Snapped
by Xyrule
Summary: The rebirth of Snapped, originally written by DontKnowD0ntCare! After Darkness, everyone has begun to change, and the deep-seated problems within Rito have begun to affect his behavior, but which can win out? The frustration at being constantly treated as the guy who will always forgive, or the desire to avoid conflict and resolve things peacefully?
1. Dark

**So yeah, DDKDC finally gave up on this, and since I had the original story saved for other reasons, I figured I'd step up and continue it in his stead.**

 **For those who read the original version and his one-chapter start to his rewrite, you probably know at least my name, and whether you read my stuff or not, you've probably seen a glimpse my style in that one rewritten chapter since I was the editor for it. This version will have a similar style probably, and I do want to at least maintain some sort of semblance of the original layout, but I do have to warn that my chapters are not massive like his. My style is more like 1-1.5k words per chapter, so once I've gone through the stuff written by him, the following events will be shrunken down, and I'll probably also break up what he's written to be more manageable as well.**

 **I must warn you, I don't have the same flair he does. If you really want me to, I can try doing random trivia and updates like he tended to do, but if you came to the story for random sports news and injuries in the A/N, you'll probably not find them. Just saying.**

 **For those used to my normal stories like KoC and EE, don't worry. Those will still be taking precedence and will hopefully not be detracted from because of this. However, if you are going to be reading this one too, be aware that this is not going to be written as my usual style. Due to the nature of how the existing chapters are handled, I won't be turning it into a super long dark mess of plot points like the others. It'll be closer to slice of life than pretty much anything I normally do. Hey, it's practice for me too.**

 **As for update frequency. Those who read my own active stories will know that I tend to write a chapter every week or so, though I do my best to write faster. This story, however, will not be so common. It'll probably be once a month or something, whenever I find time to focus on it I guess. Still a step up from the super infrequent updates he had, right? Hopefully I've built up at least some sort of reputation for being somewhat regular. Please ignore the massive number of abandoned stories I have.**

 **If you have any questions about the story, please direct them to me. He isn't interested in it anymore, I think he made that very clear, so it'll just be bothering him.**

 **I don't think I've ever done an A/N this long before...He's rubbing off on me, nooo! uwu**

* * *

"Shameless! Pervert! Beast!" The insults were always the same. Every day, they came from all sides. I can't catch a break no matter where I am. At home. At school. From all sides there are people, usually girls, who ignore my pleas for mercy and hit where it hurts.

Every day I try to restart my life. I promise myself that I will not trip. I will not let my hands touch another person. And yet it always happens. I trip. I lose my balance. Someone runs into my shoulder and knocks me over. Every single time, there is some girl to land on. It isn't intentional, it never is, but that never stops them from retaliating, and by now, there rarely comes a day when I don't walk home with bandages over my face. Not that I blame them, I know my excuses sound pretty pathetic after so long with the same story.

Still, some of them react way too harshly, to the point of excessiveness. Nana and Yami are prime examples of that. Honestly, it's a wonder I'm still alive with them around, and the worst part is that I can't do anything about it.

Nana may not be very relevant to Deviluke's bizarre political sphere, but her dad is still the king of the universe, and if Lala's anything to go by, he's way too overprotective about his daughters. So yeah, if I even so much as raise my voice against her, it'll only take a single video call and boom, no more Earth. The worst kind of freeloader, one who actively uses me as a punching bag knowing full well I can't do anything about it. Was Nana that bad to other people before she came here?

At school it's no better with Miss Anti-Ecchi buzzing around seemingly everywhere I look. Seriously, I get that Yami's an all-powerful mutant alien thing, but I'm pretty sure teleportation isn't in her arsenal. Yet there she always is, standing at just the right angle above me in the stairwell or turning a corner when I'm walking. Seriously, she needs to get her face out of those books she reads and pay attention for once. Maybe then she'd finally succeed in the mission she's supposed to be here for instead of just beating the crap out of me for the slightest thing.

I don't even have to do anything to make her mad at this point. Just my presence is enough to set her off, and yet somehow I'm always alive afterwards. Not much of the "greatest assassin in the universe" if she can't kill one human, is she?

I've tried to care for her, I truly have. I sank months into getting her comfortable living on Earth, supporting her in Tearju-sensei's absence even before I knew the woman existed, looking out to make sure nobody treated her like an enemy, yet all I ever get is half-hearted efforts to kill me and then her running away without so much as an apology. Every day.

But those two are just the most physically abusive ones. God, where do I even start with Kotegawa?

Kotegawa Yui, the school disciplinary president who nobody asked for. The one person who I'd have thought would understand my position after being around during so many of my accidents. I thought by now she'd realize I never intend any harm, that I'm not a bad guy. I thought I could actually consider her a close friend. None of that matters though, evidently.

Yami may show up once or twice a day and beat me to the ground, but you, you don't pull your punches even if you never actually raise a hand against me. I can handle the kicks and punches, but there's something especially awful about how dehumanizing your insults are.

"Harenchi". It means shameless, indecent. It's awful and I hate it, and you know that it isn't true, yet it's still your catchphrase at this point. I guess that's all I am to you, just an annoying klutz who can't keep his hands to himself.

I thought you were a friend, but maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just an idiot. I should have been like Saruyama and avoided you immediately, but no, I decided to trust you, like I trust everyone I meet for some reason. I should have hated you. I should hate myself for believing in you, but at this point I don't care enough to feel that strongly.

Those three are the worst of the physical and verbal abuse, but it only gets worse. I wish it stopped there, but no, there's always more for me. Someone is always there to hit me when I'm down.

Momioka-san. Momo. You just do not know when to give up, do you?

Momioka-san, I'll be honest. You're a pretty cool chick, and I respect your ability to get along with pretty much anyone, even my idiot best friend, but that teasing you do? Please, just stop. Nobody enjoys it except maybe Sawada. I don't like it when you hug me from behind or randomly blow in my ears, and it drives me nuts when you decide to grope someone I'm talking to. Not that me being there matters, you should stop even if I'm not around. Please, just stop for once.

Still, like I said, you're a pretty cool girl otherwise. The random sexual advances is really my only gripe with you, everything else is fine by me. Better than this next one, that's for sure.

Momo. Velia. Deviluke. Never have I ever wanted to punch someone so much for saying they loved me. I know you care about me, maybe as much as Lala does, but still. I have to hold back so much for the same reasons as with Nana, plus I get that you don't really mean any harm.

Though, I'm beginning to question even that. What is the actual point of your "harem plan"? It's blindingly obvious even to a brick like me that you're just trying to get me to yourself without hurting Lala. You claim that it's to benefit a lot of girls, but just name one living outside my house who actually cares about me like that. Name one person who actually depends on me to be happy. And no, Mikan doesn't count, she's my sister. Freak.

Whatever is going on in your head, I wish you'd stop, and if you can't, then keep it to yourself like I do. I know you won't though, because you've never once bothered to ask if I cared in the slightest about your plans. You don't care what I want, as much as you claim you do. You're no different than Nana, a self-centered spoiled brat who abused her status to get her way. You've never even so much as asked if I actually agreed with that harem plan of yours, you just assumed I did and went with it. And yet you still have the audacity to tease me about it.

I have just one thing to ask you, Momo Velia Deviluke. Do you _really_ care about me?

I'd go farther, but I can't do that far down the rabbit hole yet, can I? I still have so much more to complain about after all, but someone's knocking at my door.

"Hey, Rito!" Thank you, Mikan. Inner Rito was starting to get to me again.

"Ah, Mikan! Yeah, what's going on?" Way to cover your thoughts up, me. You're just as good at hiding it as you always were.

"You haven't left your room since you got home from school. You alright?" As usual, the same tone she always takes. She babies everyone even though she's still an elementary schooler.

"Ah, um, yeah! Just...dealing with some stuff. I'll be down later!"

"You sure? It's really not like you to shut yourself in like this. Did something happen?"

No, thankfully.

"...Did you fall on someone again?"

Well...yes, but that's not what I-

"Who was it?"

I could explain if you'd-

"Rito?...You know what, whatever. You need to stop doing that, it's embarrassing for me too, you know? Ever since my friends came over here, rumors about you are around my school too…"

Well, great. Even without being around, some other school knows me as what everyone at Sainan High thinks I am.

"Seriously, Rito. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be your sister."

...Ashamed, huh? I'm surprised you said you were ashamed of being my sister, rather than of me being your brother. Everyone else directs their irritation specifically at me rather than in that roundabout way.

I can't really find a real reason to fault her though. Mikan's a bit rude, but it's usually well-deserved and I don't think I've ever seen her acting out of turn when she doesn't have a reason to. She does her best to take care of everyone, I really, truly can't think badly of her.

Still, I can't keep living like this. It's gotten to where I think so negatively about everyone around me. I really don't want to tell any of them what I'm thinking, but eventually…

Another knock, saving me yet again from myself. It's Lala this time, evident from the characteristic way she stretches out my name.

"Lala? What is it?"

"Mikan said to remind you that dinner's going to be ready soon!" Already? Time flies when you're having fun…

"Ok, I'll be down soon. Thanks!"

"Kay~!" She's not gone yet. I didn't hear her footsteps. "Hey, Rito?"

"What is it now, Lala?" She always drags this out, doesn't she? It's not just me either, she tends to do this with anyone.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say...I know it was tough today again, but…"

...Oh Gid who art in Deviluke, polished be thy tail, don't let her say what I think she's-

"I love you. Just...thought you'd want to hear it." Loud thumping sounds fading away. She's gone now, finally.

...I can't believe it. After just complimenting Mikan, I can't believe I'm thinking what I'm thinking about Lala right now. But Lala...I didn't want to hear that. I never wanted to hear that. Not from anyone. Not from you. What is going on with me? Why do those words make me so irrationally angry?

Oh. Right. That's why. It's because it's all your fault. This hell I live is because you came here.

Yami coming to Earth was because of Lacospo's weird obsession with you. I wouldn't have an assassin on my back all the time if you didn't come. Nana and Momo, those twin terrors, they came because you were here. My balance issues, they're because you warped so close to be that first day...Everything. Everything is because of you.

Oh my god, what is wrong with me? I'm turning on the only person who I am absolutely certain cares for me. The one person I know genuinely loves me and wishes no ill will toward me. Someone who really does consider me everything Momo claims many girls see me as.

Yet...I feel so bitter thinking about that. It's true, no matter how I slice it. If you didn't come here, I'd have confessed to Haruna. I'd be with the one normal person who didn't hate me for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If you weren't here, I wouldn't have to deal with the psychotic pervert and the Devilukean equivalent of a chihuahua. If you weren't here, Kotegawa wouldn't even know I existed. If you weren't here, I'd be living a normal life.

...I don't want to think this anymore. Stop it, inner me! She didn't mean any of this, she's innocent of any crime!

I can't keep going like this. I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I don't want to face Kotegawa. I don't want to run into Yami. I don't want anything to do with Nana.

I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't want to.

I'm not angry, am I? Not really, I've never really been able to get mad at anyone. It's not anger I'm feeling.

It's fear.

I'm scared. I'm terrified. The worst part is, I can't pin it on anyone but myself.

I'm afraid of my own emotions. How long am I supposed to keep going like this? I'm bottling everything up and just echoing in my own head…

Bottles break if they fall. How long will it be until then?

I'm going to _snap_.


	2. Bending

**Hey, bet you didn't expect this to be done early! I'm not sure yet if these longer A/Ns will be a regular thing or not, so please say whether you like them. Probably not, I know I personally don't like when authors do stuff like this, but hey, maybe you do!**

 **So, yeah. Chapter 2. I expected to only have started this by now, but hey, things happen and now we're here, having finished 5 pages of story in a couple days. Not my usual style, for sure. Guess I should go to review answering now, shouldn't I? Yeah, I think that makes sense.**

 **Most of them were as I pretty much expected, congratulations on picking up the series and similar stuff. Thanks to all them, but I do have a bit of a confession in that chapter 1 had already been written by me in the first place, and so I had a lot to go off of already for the reboot. So, I didn't really pick it up so much as release a slightly edited version of a thing I already had queued up and ready to go. Still, this series is oddly fun to write despite being totally against my usual stuff, so I will certainly be continuing it!**

 **A smaller group I did notice were those mentioning awkward transitions and strange wordings, and that I could have made it better by adding very minor details. Yeah, you're right, and I've hopefully fixed it by now. Chapter 2 and onward should be more deviant from the original logs now, though it won't be super different until later on probably.**

 **Those are the more positive things I have to say, now for the more negative ones. For one, please stop sending me stuff in Spanish. I can't read it and I don't want to keep bothering DDKDC for translations better than Google Translate can give. I only can speak English, and it should be evident from the fact this is written entirely in English that Spanish reviews don't really work out.**

 **The second thing...why does it seem oddly disproportionate that people want to see Rito start killing people? That's super dark even by my standards and totally doesn't fit the tone of the story. Seriously, people.**

 **Sorry if those sounded a bit harsh, just figured I'd stop them in their tracks now rather than have them keep ramping up as the story goes on. Just enjoy it as it comes!**

* * *

 _The orange-haired boy laid curled up in a corner, his hands on his head as he huddled, trying to hide from those chasing him._

 _He didn't know where he was, he didn't know why he was here. Who was shouting at him so angrily? Their voices echoed in his head. Why was he so small? The walls towered over him, the ceiling unseeable through the gloom._

 _He knew he hadn't escaped permanently, in his pathetically obvious hiding spot, but that didn't help him steel his nerves any more as they appeared in front of him, three towering figures pointing down at him._

" _Yuuki-kun! Why is it always you?" one shouted, her voice ringing in his ears and piercing the gloom with a bright light that blinded him, forcing him to close his eyes and leaving him unprepared for the second._

" _I've always known you were a beast, but this is ridiculous. Really, I don't know why no one's gotten rid of you yet." A high pitched voice, not shouting as loud but still sounding incredibly annoyed, as if he was an insect that wouldn't stop bothering her._

" _..." The third was the worst. She said nothing, not even the catchphrase he'd expected, and instead, as he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the edge of a metallic blade that glinted in the blinding light._

Rito was normally very good at keeping himself quiet after these dreams, but this time, he couldn't help but jolt awake, sitting up with his hand gripping his shirt above his chest. This one felt a lot more real than usual , and the pace of his heart rate only served to prove that the feeling was not just in his head.

The bedsheets near his legs shifted, and before he recognized the soft "Ara ara" coming from there, he instinctively jerked his leg, and the form squeaked as she collapsed to the floor, wrapped up in the covers that were ripped off the bed alongside her.

Momo laughed hesitantly as she freed herself, her head shifting back and forth from dizziness at the surprisingly accurate kick to the side of her head. "Good kick…" she said, shaking her head to regain her consciousness, blinking a few times before smiling at the boy. "I guess I should have expected that, it's been a while since I've come in, hasn't it~" She stood up, dusting herself off and rubbing the sore spot. "Good thing Devilukeans are durable, or else I'd be in trouble…"

"M-Momo?!" he asked, quickly crossing his legs and turning to face her. "What are you doing here?!" Why did he even bother asking that question anymore? She never stopped, even when Lala finally seemed to.

She smiled, waving her hand nonchalantly. "I just got lonely~" she said in a singsong voice. "But you were so still, you didn't even become carnivorous tonight...Are you alright?"

...It was sad that the best sign of his mental health was whether or not he attacked girls in his sleep. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry…" He'd be even more fine if she wasn't around, but saying that wouldn't change anything.

Her smile dipped a little as she scooted towards him, setting a hand on the bed and leaning forward as she stared closely into his eyes. He had no doubts that her position was specifically meant to show him everything through the loose nightgown she wore, but he kept his gaze firmly up at her face.

"You're shaking and your face is red." she stated flatly, before chuckling, her other hand reaching to his chin. "Oh, I see, it wasn't _that_ kind of dream, was it? Ara ara, you could have just asked me to help you out!"

His heartbeat gradually slowed down, his terror at the dream fading thanks to her typical annoying attitude. "Just stop…"

He must have accidentally let a little too much sincerity into his voice, because the alien frowned, standing up. "Are you really okay? I can help, you kn-"

"Momo. I'm fine. Just...go get ready for school. I'll be out in a bit." He just needed some time alone. Yeah, that was all.

She held a hand out to him. "But-" He shook his head to cut her off, and her hand lowered, her happy expression dropping.

"Just...give me some time." he stated, and she stood still, silent as she thought it over, before smiling, though it was much less sincere than usual.

"O-Okay. You know, Rito-san…" She seemed about to say something, before deciding against it, twirling around and stretching, bending forward to intentionally show her body off to him, though as usual he ignored it, and she walked away, slowly closing the door behind him.

The closed door provided a barrier between him and the outside world, and he released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, feeling his heart rate jump again. He could keep the trembling down and keep her unaware, but now that he was alone, he couldn't hold it back anymore.

This wasn't the first time he'd had a nightmare, but it was the most terrifying since back when he'd been falsely accused for the garden vandalism incident.

Was this going to be a regular thing now? Unable to escape the insults, unable to run from Yami's blades, even when he was asleep. Even in his dreams they were chasing him down!

He should have expected it by now, though. If they'd been terrorizing his waking hours for so long, then it was only natural they'd find the one source of solace he had. When he ran out of time to deal with them in real life, then naturally they'd invade his mind as well!

It couldn't last forever. He couldn't be safe from them for eternity, and it made him want to scream. He hated this. Hated that he couldn't escape, hated that he couldn't say anything.

None of this was their fault, he knew that. They had no idea what they were doing, they just assumed that their actions were simply character quirks. They thought he could take it, that he was a punching bag able to withstand any assault. None of this was their fault. It was his, for being dense, for being stupid, for not being able to speak up.

He was starting to pay the price for his silence. This madness was starting to slowly creep out. The dreams were getting worse, the unreasonable anger kept welling up no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.

Something had to give. Otherwise, he had no idea what would happen.

Otherwise, someone would go too far.

Rito sat still on the bed, steadying his nerves. He was shivering now, but not from fear. Rather, it was simply cold now that he was drenched in sweat. He'd definitely need a shower.

That meant leaving his room, and going downstairs. He didn't like it, but it was unavoidable, and he'd calmed down enough now that he didn't have any excuse.

He wasn't yet at the level of being afraid to be around other people, so he steeled himself and opened his door.

Of course, being Yuuki Rito, the same thing as usual happened as Lala collapsed inward, the support of the door gone when he'd opened it, and before he realized what was going on, he was on the ground, suffocating in her chest while she lay on top of him, confused before she looked down.

The girl jumped up, sparing his oxygen supply and holding her hands behind her back, grinning apologetically.

"Sorry, Rito~! I wasn't paying attention!"

"Lala?! You're naked!" A common sight in the household, but it never ceased to freak him out.

"Hm? Well of course I am, I just got out of the shower! Aren't you supposed to bathe naked?"

"I've told you a million times to put a towel on afterwards!"

She blinked, tapping her chin with a finger and looking up in thought, before closing her eyes and smiling, rapping the side of her head with her knuckles. "I left it in my room! Sorry!"

An excuse she always made. It really didn't sound very sincere after over a year of it.

Still, he wasn't particularly annoyed, and if anything, the familiar daily gag helped his mood...until he heard the familiar voice of the resident household tsundere from behind the elder sister, who had turned to head to her room.

"You never seem to learn, do you? Beast…" Of course, he couldn't control Lala's clumsiness or her short term memory, but Nana never cared. No, everything that happened was his fault.

"Wait, Nana. I didn't-" Before he could defend himself, his breath was knocked from him once again, though this time, rather than it being a result of marshmallow hell, he instead found himself on the ground, his body contorted awkwardly in the grip of the smallest sister, one hand wrapped around his legs and the other his throat as her feet dug into his shoulders.

"You always claim you're not at fault! How can you not be to blame when this happens every single day? You can't trick me with that innocent act, I know you're just a pervert in disguise!" she shouted, ignoring the fact that his face had started turning blue from the lack of oxygen, her hand constricting his windpipe.

She may look weak and inoffensive, but Nana had the fighting prowess of a human martial artist, and Rito's body was simply not designed to defend against that. He tried to choke out an explanation, or even an effort to beg for mercy, but he couldn't do anything but roll around the ground in an effort to shake off his captor.

Of course, it didn't work, and only served to anger her even more, her grip tightening as his spine bent painfully backwards.

"L-let gooo…" he choked out, releasing one arm to tap on the ground in the hopes she'd relent.

"Nana! What are you doing?!" he heard someone shouting, and he managed to open his eyes enough to see Lala, now dressed, rushing into his room. "Stop!"

"Why should I? I'm tired of this beast acting like he can do whatever he wants! He has to suffer the consequences of his actions!"

The two continued shouting back and forth, but the rest was barely intelligible, the lack of oxygen to his brain making the boy's mind go fuzzy, barely focusing on the real world anymore.

First thing in the morning, and he already has to deal with this. His senses were dulled and he barely registered when Nana finally released him, his muscles too limp to do anything but fall to the ground, staring blankly at the floor.

By now, his hearing was reduced to a dull throbbing and tinnitus, but he could feel thumping on the ground as Nana fled the room, and he could guess what Lala was saying as he felt himself lifted up.

She was worried about him. It was as clear as day even to his semi-conscious brain, but the understanding didn't change things.

He didn't want to see any of them anymore. Not Momo, not Nana, not even Lala, not anyone. He couldn't stand this so early in the morning, not after his nightmare.

And now here Lala was, showing concern over him despite it being all thanks to her that this happened at all.

He hated the thought, but it was true. Right now, he wasn't okay, and he really wanted nothing more than to pass out and pretend he'd never woken up in the first place.


	3. Damaged

**So here we are with Chapter 3! As usual, my timing was totally off and I ended up finishing it in a couple days rather than the promised week. Hopefully that makes up for the delay!**

 **Everything's fine now here, Hurricane Florence has passed and my house had made it out much better than many people in the city. By the time next chapter comes, it'll have passed the peak season, so unless something insane happens, I don't think there'll be the same kind of delay next time!**

 **Not really anything to reply to this time, most reviews recently have been blessings to stay safe during the storm, and I thank all of you!**

 **I did get a couple reviews about Nana, Mea, and Nemesis, and I don't remember if I mentioned this in earlier ANs, so I'll reiterate here.**

 **Nana will indeed be important. If you read the original, you'll be aware of her role, and in this, while slightly changed, she'll still be a major cataclyst. After all, she's the tsundere Rito sees most often.**

 **As for Mea and Nemesis...Don't worry about them. This story is set after the actual introduction of Nemesis, so they do very much exist, but their roles...well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? I have some little things I'm keeping secret after all!**

 **Little bit of a short chapter this time, but I think it's justified. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

By the time he regained consciousness, Lala had arranged him to lie on his back, his head resting on her lap while her hand ran through his hair. As he struggled to open his eyes again, he looked up, confused by the worried expression on the girl's face.

Lala was never worried. Nothing ever fazed her, so what was wrong now?

"Nana's gone now. You can get up. Rito…" Her voice was low and shaky, but she held her composure, probably intending to comfort him, and her face lit up as he groaned in pain, sitting up and resting an arm on his Nana's foot had dug into.

He probably had some sort of spinal injury, but it was nothing he hadn't dealt with before. Barely worth looking at.

"Rito…?" He blinked, and, reminded that she existed, turned to face her. He gave a small smile to reassure her that he was alright, before grunting as he planted his hand on the ground to push him to a standing position.

"I'm fine, Lala. Don't worry." His smile widened to a grin and he stretched his arms up in the air. "Nothing I haven't experienced before!"

"I'll talk to Nana. I'll make her apologize and-"

He shook his head, cutting her off. "Don't worry about it. Just get ready for school. I'm going to take a shower."

A shower would do well to clear his head and get his thoughts sorted out. Yeah, that was all he needed.

"Should I-" He jumped where he stood, and she made a small sound before continuing. "Should I wait for you…?"

"Nah, just go ahead without me. I'm fine, don't worry!"

Without giving her time to react, he swiftly left his room, leaving her sitting on the floor, confused at his actions as he rushed his way to the bathroom.

He knew what she was going to say, and even out of earshot he had a feeling she'd said it anyway. The same thing she always did. "I love you." Every time anything happened, that always was her go-to response.

Of course, being Rito, having himself become distracted by anything was a recipe for disaster, and as he made his way downstairs, his foot slipped on the edge of a step, sending him flying and causing him to smash his back hard against the wood, sitting still at the bottom for several seconds as he tried to process what had happened.

His back had already hurt from Nana's punishment, but now it was just throbbing painfully, and it was a wonder that he'd been lucky enough to have no one at the bottom of the stairs to land on.

The fact that his mind first thought the word 'lucky' when normally it would be a good thing to have something soft to land on only reminded him of the situation he was in. He would rather risk a concussion than have another ecchi moment.

"Rito? You okay?" called Mikan from the kitchen, and he groaned as he grabbed the handrail, pulling himself up and running a hand along the sore spot on his back.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine! Just tripped!"

"There wasn't anyone under you, was there?" she replied, and he inwardly cringed. Mikan was observant, there was no way anything could slip past her.

"N-No, there wasn't!"

"Alright. Hurry up, I'll be done prepping breakfast soon!"

"Yeah, I'm just getting a shower!" With that, he continued on his mission, though now he walked with a more pronounced limp.

~~~In the shower~~~

Rito sighed as he let the hot water run over him, the heat helping him to relax and ignore the pain in his back. It really was nice to be here, and this time he knew he was safe. Everyone else had already taken their turn, meaning nobody would show up unannounced.

Still, being alone meant his thoughts were free to run wild, and he instinctively brought his legs to his chest, wrapping his arms around his shins and resting his forehead on his knees.

He wasn't going to cry, he was too far past that, but still he shivered. Without anyone around, he was free to outwardly show his fear.

The nightmare he'd had that morning had been very real, and Nana's typical morning routine only aligned perfectly with the caricature his mind had drawn of her. At least he only had to deal with her here, it was only when he was at school that the others came into play.

But he couldn't deny that that wasn't really the case. Sure, those three were the ones who attacked him the most, but it was worse when things that were legitimately his fault got blown off like they were nothing. He'd kicked Momo square in the face and she hardly even blinked. Lala had brushed off the awkward position they'd been in as if it was something any normal human did daily. It even extended farther than that, with the other girls at the school that nobody really paid any attention to.

Run couldn't find fault in him even if he tried, and even Kyouko had experienced his terrible luck before. Yet neither saw him any differently, and that was even worse in his mind than Yami attacking him for the smallest things she considered wrong or Kotegawa unfairly blaming him for the school's problems.

However, he simply didn't have the energy to blame himself anymore. He could barely think straight, with all these intrusive thoughts and the pain in his spine, and his body moved on its own, stumbling slightly as he stood up straight and headed over to a mirror.

He looked horrible, that much was clear. He spent so long every day cultivating his usual optimistic demeanor, and over time he'd learned to switch to the public view in an instant if need be, but to him, who rarely looked at himself, it was not the face of the boy he was trying to be.

But it wasn't that he looked different that really unsettled him. It was more that he didn't. This version of him, the one that only he could see, had the exact same small smile, the exact same light in his eyes, the exact same laid-back position as he stood there.

It meant that he couldn't even bear to show himself what was really going on. This version of him, the fake Rito that could feel no pain and was incapable of anger, was all he could show. The real him, the one trying not to collapse from the weight of everyone surrounding him, remained buried, only able to show when nobody, not even himself, was looking.

No, the thing that scared him the most wasn't Kotegawa or Yami or Nana or Momo. He was certain that they, in their own minds, were justified in their actions. It wasn't that he could feel his mind chipping under the pressure, it was only logical that a normal human like himself couldn't handle so many attacks from so many angles.

What scared him was that this version of him, the one he had invented to protect everyone from the truth, had become all he could see. He had only created this image to keep those he was close to from worrying about him, and yet now it had gotten so bad that even when he was alone, he was incapable of returning to normal...if he even knew what was normal anymore.

Was this what he was becoming? Was his desperate attempt to juggle all the good and bad things in his life going to take over the real him? What _is_ the real him anymore? Was this all in his mind, or did he have justification for all this? At this point, he had no idea, and that was why he was so scared. It felt like this Rito in the mirror was his twin, a person so nice that he could do nothing but hurt himself rather than others.

It would have been nice if he could blame it on Mea or Nemesis, both of whom had the ability to manipulate the mind, but something like this had been going on far longer than they were present on Earth. It hadn't been nearly as obvious back then, but this same conflict had started way back before Lala came, back when he'd been blamed for the vandalism of the middle school gardens.

It was then, he thought, that this other self had formed. A mask he invented to hide his fear at his classmates jeering at him over the false accusations, even when it had been proven that he was innocent. He'd used that face to keep himself sane, a sponge to absorb the insults and deflect them as jokes and keep his real thoughts calm and collected.

It had vanished for several years before Lala arrived, and he had to use it again, pretending that he was totally fine with the chaos that followed her. Since then, it had grown as more and more girls appeared, and now, he had to question which was real and which was the lie.

Was it this version, who blamed himself for everything, or the one he couldn't see, who hoped he wasn't entirely at fault?

He groaned, his hands reaching up to grab at his hair as he backed away, closing his eyes as, yet again, he felt his face change. The other face, the one he couldn't see. Of course it came out as soon as he wasn't looking.

His mind swirled painfully with the conflicting thoughts, attempting to sort out the rush of memories and conjured up dreams that flew into his head, and before he recognized what he was doing, his eyes snapped open, and with what to his confused ears sounded like a war cry, he brought his fist forward.

The war cry devolved into a scream of pain as the mirror shattered under the impact, leaving his hand to smash directly into the tile wall behind it, causing him to collapse to his knees, gripping the injured hand tightly as he grit his teeth.

He never cried. He had lost the ability to, and that only made the heat in his eyes worse. Nothing could come out, and nothing would ever come out.


	4. Backlash

**The last month has been really hectic, so sorry if this came a bit later than expected. I did manage to complete it before a full month passed, just barely, so hopefully that's fine by all of you!**

 **Peak hurricane season has ended now, and though there's still a little over a month left before the season officially ends, I don't think there's anything to worry about, but things were a bit hairy around when the last chapter got published, what with Florence hitting and then all the news on Michael and Leslie right after (though luckily neither of those affected me!).**

 **So, that means that it's time for another chapter, and so here we go. The first real deviation from the original, hooray!**

 **The original story, at this point, was still in its third chapter, but I'll probably have the old chapter 3 extend from the new 3-5. It's getting a bit weird to line up with the old story, so that means it'll start being more and more my own work! Though I am aware that some people here are actually new and have zero clue what I'm talking about, so for those, just ignore half of the bold text.**

 **Not much by way of reviews, so I'll just give a general statement on PMs I've been getting. Unlike DDKDC, I have an actual plan beyond just the logs the original provides, but like with him, I won't be giving any hints as to what is to come in later chapters, nor do I plan on releasing old logs. You'd have to ask him for those!**

 **Also please stop sending questions of the kind similar to "Will Rito kill people?" He won't. Stop asking.**

 **That's all for now, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Mikan hummed to herself as she worked in the kitchen, passing out the simple eggs and toast that she'd made to the various people who passed by. Zastin had visited to deliver a message from their father and helped her with preparing breakfast, but now he had left to return to his work. The life of a mangaka's assistant could be hard.

After the typical morning debacle, the aliens not currently in a high chair started filtering into the kitchen, picking up the plates she'd laid out on the island while she turned to clean up. A couple years ago, she'd have rushed to her brother's aid as soon as she heard yelling from upstairs, but nowadays it was hardly even worth noting except a simple shout to make sure everything was alright.

Nana seemed in an especially bad mood this morning, so it was no wonder there'd been a bit more noise than usual. She really did seem to hate the boy, and now was chewing her food with a comical frown on her face as her twin sister sat next to her, eating with much more grace as she often did.

The middle-schooler shook her head, sighing as she dried her hands off with a rag and set it on the oven's handle. She could come up with a solution, but there really wasn't a need to. Rito had never complained except for small passing comments, and it was nice having such a lively household...even if it did come at the expense of a lot more embarrassing situations happening, some of which affected her too. Still, the only thing she'd had to actually ban was the Jikido flower species as well as soda, an unfortunate loss but one that had a much bigger benefit in that there was no chance for Celine to find any and wreak havoc as she had a couple times before.

"Mau?" The little alien plant-girl seemed to recognize that Mikan had been thinking about her, and the girl smiled, walking to her and poking her forehead with her index finger.

"What's the matter, Celine?" Mikan asked, and the child smiled at her, grabbing her empty plate and waving it around, making her signature sound repeatedly as Mikan laughed. "You want more? That's your fourth egg, how can you eat so much?"

Momo sighed, watching the two as she balanced her cheek on her fist, while Nana continued her angry eating, as the younger Yuuki had preemptively made more than usual, anticipating this situation. "It's funny how you get along with her better than I can, even though I'm the one who initially found her."

Mikan smirked at the girl, sticking her tongue out briefly. "You're not motherly enough. Chase Rito less and focus more on your life skills and maybe she'll consider you her mother too." It was still a bit weird that the plant-girl saw the siblings as her parents, but really, who could blame her? She was a baby, no matter what species she may be. Besides, she couldn't really argue that he did act fatherly toward the child, whether he knew it or not.

Another shout and a crash came from the direction of the bathroom, and she sweatdropped, not even glancing away as she took Celine's plate to keep her from flinging it across the room if it slipped from her tiny fingers. "...Did he walk in on Lala or something?"

"...No?" came the voice of the eldest sister, and Mikan blinked as she turned around to find the girl walking down the stairs, fully dressed in her school uniform...Evidently she'd decided to go for real clothes today rather than just have Peke do it for her, the robot probably resting somewhere after a mess that had happened the day before.

"...Then, what was that noise? Was it-" She looked around, doing a recount of the people in the room. "...Everyone's here. Is Yami-san visiting?"

"Didn't she mention she was in Hokkaido for something until noon?" Momo asked, and Mikan blinked.

"Then…" A mental checklist didn't bring up any regular guests. There were a couple possible others, but none were particularly good. "...I should probably check it out. If Nemesis got inside again, it'll just be a nightmare for all involved."

Momo laughed hesitantly. "I set up a barrier, but she may have gotten through. If she did, my bad!"

The girl waved off the comment as she left her post, setting the plate down on a counter and heading towards the bathroom, walking quickly but not particularly urgently. Nemesis was a danger, but she rarely appeared, and things tended to end quickly when they started around the weird loli.

She lightly knocked on the bathroom door a few times, listening in for the familiar sound of him stuttering an unconvincing complaint or someone else talking, but oddly, everything was silent save for the shower water running. "...Rito? What happened?"

Silence was her only answer, and she frowned, her hand tightening on the doorknob as she mentally debated whether to go in or not. It wouldn't be the first time she'd seen her brother in the nude, even recently, but it was still enough to make her hesitate.

"Rito. Are you okay? Say something…" Worry had set in now, and she was keenly aware of her voice shaking a little as her hand trembled.

With no response, she made up her mind, steeling herself and twisting the knob. The latch made a cracking sound as the girl, fuelled by a short burst of adrenaline as her mind raced at what may have happened, twisted it, and though it hadn't broken, it still was forced open as she practically kicked the door inward.

It crossed her mind briefly that it was entirely possible she was gravely misjudging the situation, and this time she didn't have any weird pheromone flowers to blame for her uncharacteristic behavior, but at the same time she was kind of hoping that it was just in her mind. Dealing with the consequences of barging in on her brother bathing was preferable to an actual emergency…

...Of course, given that this was Rito, the worst case scenario was bound to happen, and her eyes widened as she found him knelt on the ground, clutching his right wrist in front of shattered glass, all that remained of the mirror that had been in front of him, which now was just a broken frame and a crater in the tile behind it.

"Rito! What happened?!" She rushed to his side, kneeling to check on him without hesitation. No thought of his being nude crossed her mind now, not when he was clearly injured. She tapped his shoulder to get his attention, though even with that, there was no response as his head remained bent downward, the characteristic leaf that usually was at the front of his hair now sagging and covering his face from view.

"Rito! Answer me! Look up at least!" Her hands gripped his shoulders, shaking him to force him to respond. "What happened here? Why aren't you saying anything?!"

She didn't care that she was standing in water with clothes on, nor that there was liquid forming in her eyes. That didn't matter, not when her normally sociable brother was being so deathly quiet, and though his body blocked her from seeing exactly what he'd done to himself, it was clear that it had nothing to do with Nemesis or any other random alien. Whatever had happened here, it was entirely him alone who caused it.

She frowned, before grabbing the sides of his head, lifting it and pushing the hair out of the way so she could see his face.

She inwardly flinched at the sight of him. For the briefest instant, he wasn't even the same person. A mix of all kinds of emotions she never thought she'd see in him, most notably the two things that she had never even associated with him. Incredible pain, and a rage that froze her blood before all of a sudden, his expression went back to normal.

She blinked at the sudden change, so quick that it felt like the other expression had been just her imagination, but it was burned into her mind now. This Rito, the normal smiling one who practically glowed with optimism, didn't fool her at all. Not this time.

"Sorry, Mikan. Was I bothering you?" he asked, his tone as apologetic as ever as she frowned.

"Your first reaction is to apologize to me? What happened here? And don't pretend that nothing did, it's pretty obvious." She knew he had a habit of deflecting things surrounding himself, and she was not going to let him get away with it this time.

He blinked, before laughing hesitantly, knowing he was trapped. When Mikan wanted information, she was scarier than Yami, so he couldn't help but give in, raising his injured hand to let her inspect it.

She took his wrist gently to examine the injury, sighing worriedly. Nothing seemed broken and there were no external wound as he'd been lucky enough to only get minor shards stuck into his skin, but almost his entire hand was dark red and purple with internal bruising. "So? Why exactly did you decide to punch the mirror?" Her tone was sarcastic, but it was just masking her true emotions towards the matter...In reality, it broke her heart to see him like this. This was the first time she'd ever seen him acting this way, and though his body language and phrasing were the same as usual, there was something fundamentally different about him right now, and that both worried and scared her.

He laughed, waving his other hand. "Thought I saw a big bug and just kind of reacted. Turns it it was just fog from the shower steam. I guess I wasn't paying very good attention…"

A lie as clear as the glass lying all over the floor, but she didn't press too hard. Yess, she wanted to get to the bottom of this, but this was Rito. He was more likely to just brush it off than to give her a straight answer, and even if she tried her hardest there was little chance she'd get much else out of him.

"Here, get up. I'll get gauze and patch you up." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his head to give him a hug, and she felt his face bury into her chest as no doubt his expression changed back to the one she'd only had a glimpse of.

This close, she was fully aware that he was shaking. It was a completely foreign feeling, knowing that the carefree boy was freaked out by something, but her natural motherly instinct took over here, patting the back of his head and resting her chin on his hair.

"It's alright, Onii-chan. You'll be fine, just let me take care of you."

The statement was completely natural, no reluctance in her voice as it simply slipped out, and she inwardly smiled as she felt his shivering stop, before he shook again, though this time, it was out of nervous laughter.

"Can you...Can you tell the others to go away? This is kind of embarrassing…" he stated, and she blinked, turning her head to the door, where the three Deilukean sisters stood, watching the two.

Lala was openly concerned, while momo hid hers better, her hand covering her mouth while Nana simply stood still, half-hidden by the door frame and with an unreadable expression on her face as her arms were crossed. It was hard to tell if she was watching or just glaring, but either way, she certainly had little note of worry for him.

"W-What's going on?" Lala asked, moving to step forward before Mikan shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. You three, just go on to school, and don't bother putting up your dishes, I'll get them later. Rito just tripped and smacked his head on the wall is all. You know, typical thing to do. At least nobody else was here!" She hoped she used a convincingly joking tone, and nodded as Lala and Momo accepted it, reluctantly accepting the explanation and turning to leave, though Nana remained, frowning.

"I'm guessing you're also going to say not to tell anyone about this." she stated flatly, and the two others froze in place, looking at her as Mikan blinked.

Mikan laughed hesitantly, before nodding slowly. "...Y-Yeah. It's no different from normal, just pretend it was part of the usual daily debacle. Oh, but don't kick him or anything, he's a bit dazed already." Her body shielded his hand from view, so hopefully they'd buy it.

"..." Nana seemed about to make another biting remark, before shaking her head. "Call your dad, maybe he can get him to stop with this stupid clumsiness of his once and for all." With that, she turned around to leave, ignoring Momo's attempt to catch her attention.

"Nana, what was that all about?! Do you really think that's-" The youngest sister blinked as Lala set a hand on her shoulder, silently cutting her off before walking away, and she opened and closed her mouth a few times, before sighing and following along.

Now, Mikan separated from Rito, smiling at him. "I hate to do this, but you'll have to dry yourself off. I can't bandage you up with you all wet, and it's already really awkward being in here. You can take your time with breakfast, there's no rush and it's Friday so you'll have the weekend to relax once you're done with school."

He was silent for several seconds, before grinning. "Sure. Sorry for the trouble."


	5. Friend

**Hello, everyone! I know this is a late chapter, but it actually kind of worked out better this way. If I recall, the first few chapters were posted at the very end of the month, so this has fixed that schedule. Anyway, here it is!**

 **Finally basically out of logs for the old chapter 2, looks like I managed to milk that one block of text for nearly 5 chapters. Awesome. Still a ton left to work with though, and things will definitely be starting to shift around a lot when they get into the school!**

 **On to reviews. Mostly they're the same as usual, and funny enough not all that many comments on Nana! This chapter won't mention her at all so it'll probably end up similar.**

 **Really there's only one major point I saw that I thought was worth mentioning, the one by Xane Kudo. No idea how to pronounce your name, but your review was interesting and though I forget if I PMed you about it since that was a month ago, I'll answer it here!**

 **People who have PMed me will know that I am firmly keeping what'll happen even chapter to chapter a secret, but I can tell you vaguely how it will end. While it will not be a slasher as a lot of people seem to think, it also won't be a happy go lucky "All is forgiven" thing either. There will be permanent consequences, and while some will avoid it, others will not. I won't go any farther than that, you'll just have to wait!**

 **Also, a little note that I haven't needed to mention until now. Sometimes I'll be making little puns that only work in Japanese, so I'll put numbered TL notes at the bottom. They probably won't be common, but I just can't resist!**

 **I hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was odd, being alone in the house near 9:30 in the morning on a school day, but that was how it had to be. Mikan couldn't stay behind to make sure he was alright, and he couldn't ask her to do so anyway. It wasn't her job to deal with his stupidity after all, she didn't even really need to go as far as she did all the time.

Still, he couldn't shake off the simple fact that he wasn't really enjoying the peace, sitting at the kitchen island eating cold yakisoba he'd found in the fridge. Of course he'd never actually ask, but he really did wish that someone stayed behind to make sure he was alright. He wouldn't even mind if Nana had checked on him, or Yami had showed up thanks to her usually keen sense of when something was wrong. Still, another part of him was glad that the Trans wasn't around. He really didn't need to see her after the nightmare he'd had that morning.

He shook away the thought, letting the memory fade to nothingness as he stood up, bringing his empty bowl to the sink before sighing as he took his bag from the chair next to where he'd been sitting. He headed over to the door, looking back at the empty house.

There was probably some sort of metaphor here, but he didn't really care. It just felt a little lonely to be walking out alone for the first time in as long as he could remember.

"Ittekimasu."

* * *

Now that he was moving, he winced at the occasional burst of pain emanating from his hand at each step, having chosen to wear his winter uniform though it wasn't quite the season yet as the long sleeves gave him a bit better chance of hiding the injury.

He felt sorry for Mikan, who had to get involved with his mess. The girl was almost too motherly for her own good, though he had to admit he didn't mind the attention, though it also meant taking up her time with his problems. A double-edged sword, to be certain.

At least he'd gotten away without having to say too much. He could accept her help on the physical injury, but there was no way he could tell her about what caused it. Even he himself wasn't entirely sure, to be honest. The mental game he'd been playing between his two selves was too exhausting to think about in hindsight, so instead, he pushed it to the back of his mind and headed down the path to school, his pace more leisurely than usual. He was already late, might as well not rush on his way there.

He blinked as he heard his name called, looking behind him and smiling as he saw Saruyama run up to fall in line next to him.

"Saruyama? What are you doing out so late?"

"I should ask you that first!" his perverted friend said, grinning as they walked side by side and swinging his school bag back and forth. "You're never late!"

Rito laughed hesitantly, bringing his good hand up to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, just...some things happened, so I ended up not getting out of the house until now."

He inwardly flinched at his friend's side-eyed expression. Evidently he'd been a bit heavy in his tone, because the boy glanced down at his injured hand before grinning widely, throwing his arms back behind his head. "Lady tro-"

Rito sweatdropped as Saruyama's motion sent the bag ramming into the boy's head, somehow managing to send himself flying several feet forward before collapsing to the ground as Rito stepped ahead to stand next to the temporarily unconscious boy, tapping his shoulder with his foot to make sure he was alright.

"Come on, man. I'm the one who's supposed to be incredibly clumsy, but you're starting to become a contender." He couldn't help but let out a laugh at the sight...They may be friends, but even Rito possessed the innate human instinct to find people getting hurt to be funny.

Saruyama groaned as he lay on the ground, a comical bump forming on his head as his eyes spiralled. "You don't even care about me…" he complained weakly, before regaining his senses and blinking as he sat up again, rubbing the bump and looking up at the boy, before grinning and holding up two fingers.

"I'm okay!" he stated, jumping back up to stand before coughing into his hand, then turning to walk as if nothing strange had happened. "Hey, you think if I work on getting more ditzy, then I'll fall on girls like you do?"

Rito laughed, shaking his head as they continued onward. "I don't know, if you get to that point you'll realize that it's not really all that fun after all."

Saruyama frowned, looking back to reply. "The most fortunate always feel like they've got the short end." he stated, and Rito smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. If you're going to act like you're all philosophical, at least make a quote that sounds relatively sensible." He tapped his chin as he mulled it over. "Like, 'There is no difference between the fortunate and the impoverished. Both desire a life they can't lead.' Something like that."

"...Since when did you have a way with words? Seriously, the Rito I know isn't nearly that sage. You know what, this weekend, you're going out on the town with just us guys. Got it?"

Rito blinked at the invitation, thinking it over. Such a thing could be good for him, getting away from the girls for a while and just ignoring the nightmares for once.

He smiled, nodding as he shifted his own bag to better rest over his shoulder. "Sure. I'll mention it to Mikan and the others when I get home."

The monkey-like boy grinned, giving a thumbs-up. "Great! Then it's settled! This weekend, we'll-Gaaah!"

It turns out that looking behind you while walking is a great way to run into a pole that is normally completely out of the path as the poor pervert stood back up, holding the bump from before, which now sported a second smaller bump on top. "Oww…"

"Moron." Rito said, chuckling as they began walking again.

It wasn't for another few moments that he blinked, glancing to the side to look at his friend as he made a realization.

Saruyama had definitely noticed his bandages. He'd done his best to cover them with his sleeve, but that brief glance down felt like it had taken forever. And yet, he hadn't even so much as pointed it out. It wasn't characteristic of the boy, but they'd known each other for years now, so Rito did know that Saruyama had his occasional moments of clarity. He had to be intentionally avoiding the subject.

He inwardly smiled at the thought. Despite being everything someone like Yami or Kotegawa hated, this monkey was still a decent person. Rito didn't pick his friends as lightly as it seemed. He knew the boy's good side well, even if it very rarely came out.

Come to think of it…"Hey, Saruyama."

"Hmm?" This time the boy was smart, stopping so he could turn around. The school was in sight now, but they were already this late, so it didn't matter much.

"Why were you late, exactly?"

Saruyama blinked, before very obvious blush stickers appeared on his face as he poked his cheek with a finger. "Oh, just...stayed up late studying."

Rito side-eyed him, a disappointed frown on his face. "And was this studying, by any chance, connected to half-dressed women?"

"Hey, I'm a man of taste! It's nude or nothing!" Spoken like a true pervert, no shame or hesitation in the response. "Anyway, we'd better hurry. Don't want to fuel Kotegawa's flame." [1]

Rito blinked, before clapping his forehead at the realization. "I didn't even think about that!" he said. "We've got to go!"

"Last one there has to take the blame!" Saruyama called, bolting forward without giving time for a response.

* * *

 **[1] The Japanese word for fire can be pronounced as either hou or ka, both of which can be a joke on the first syllable of Kotegawa's name. Take your pick which he says!**


	6. Enemy

**It's still 3 hours away, but Happy New Year to everyone who has passed midnight already! Looks like Snapped will be the last story I update before 2019!**

 **Not much by way of reviews to respond to this time, so for once I think I'll keep the AN short. This chapter is fairly short too, so it makes sense.**

 **I've finally begun on the logs from the old Chapter 3, and this is where more original stuff will start happening! For DarkDrawerJ, perhaps knowing the old structure will no longer be quite as helpful as you think…**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this year! Let's hope next year is fun too! And if not, let's hope Mea will rewrite your memory to make you think it was!**

* * *

The halls were full of people, as the first period was already over and it was currently in the middle of break time, which gave the two cover as they ran toward the classroom, Saruyama being careful now to avoid smacking into anything as the bumps on his head still hurt from earlier.

Inside the classroom, it seemed they were home free as nobody really paid them any mind while they slipped into their seats, and Saruyama sighed in relief as he laid over his desk, a dopey smile on his face.

"Thank God, she isn't here…" he said quietly, before his eyes widened as he found his head beaten down into the wooden desk by the side of an open hand, courtesy of exactly the person they'd been trying to avoid.

Rito flinched at the sight of his friend being instantly knocked out by the strike, Kotegawa evidently having zero interest right now in dealing with the pervert's excuses as she stared at the other boy, a violent glint in her eye that made it clear she was not in the mood to be messed with.

"I'm not as surprised anymore by this idiot being late, but you're supposed to be a little better than that, Yuuki-kun. Care to explain?"

Her voice was soft, kept to a low volume as she clearly was only masking her anger. She was known for her violent streak, but it wasn't unheard of for her to take this route when she was exceptionally angry.

The boy used her distraction to bring his injured hand into the cover of the storage space in his desk, mentally kicking himself for letting himself be so late.

The memory of his nightmare came back at full force, and it took all his energy to keep a straight face. Of all people to see as soon as he got to school, she was the last person he wanted.

 _Here we go again._

Her sickly sweet voice did little to hide her fiery aura as she forced a smile, looking at the boy and ignoring his now unconscious friend. "I can guess why this idiot was late, but you are usually a little better than that, Yuuki-kun. It was one of your few good points, but it seems that now, you've started to ignore that rule as well. Seriously, first you're a shameless pervert without any regards for location, now you're just showing up whenever you want to. Do you even know right from wrong anymore?"

The boy barely kept a straight face at the shooting pain in his injured hand. Evidently, he'd clenched it without even realizing. Why was he doing that? She was right, from her perspective, he had essentially sipped out of first period. Sure, it was the first time he'd done so without any of the residents of his house explaining to her what happened, but she _was_ the Disciplinary Committee president. It wasn't her fault that he'd broken a rule, and this time he couldn't use his clumsiness as an answer.

"No reply? Are you not even going to try to explain yourself? You've finally given up on that nice guy act you put on, haven't you?"

Instinctively, he looked down, turning his head away from her to stare at his desk. He shifted his hand farther into the storage space, hoping she wouldn't notice the motion. She was angry enough as is, he really didn't want her asking questions about his bandaged hand.

"Look at me, Yuuki-kun! You can't avoid me by looking away, I know you're guilty of something. You're always trying to avoid the question, every time you do something wrong you always hide behind someone else explaining things!"

If he wasn't being looked at, he had no doubt his inner self would show, but as it stood, he was unable to even lower the small smile he always put on, forced to keep the expression as she berated him.

He knew people were watching, but this was typical of how Kotegawa and he interacted with each other. It was rarely without a lot of yelling and judgemental eyes.

"At least say something. Being silent is just annoying, you're not fooling anyone." From the corner of his eye, he could see that the girl's face had twisted, from the flat expression she'd donned earlier to one of irritation, a more familiar look that only brought more memory of the nightmare surging into his mind.

He bent forward, not enough to let her know something was wrong, but it was plenty to help him mitigate the pain in his chest as his teeth grit together, struggling to keep his wild thoughts under control.

This wasn't normal. Usually, he could handle her shouting pretty well with his public face. Bouncing insults off his skin was usually pretty easy, but the combination of mental anguish from the morning's dream and physical shock from his attacking his own reflection had combined together to boil within him.

He was shaking, he knew it. If he wasn't careful, she might notice, and that would just bring up a whole host of other questions that he didn't want to answer. He had to force himself to calm down, just let it go and look at her. If he could do that, if he could keep up his smile and apologize to her, he'd be fine. He could calm down if he just did that.

But when he tried, he found himself frozen in place, and for once he thanked his hair being in his eyes as he was sure they were shaking with panic. Why couldn't he move? He couldn't even turn his gaze to her, his body stayed completely motionless.

This was a different kind of fear than the relatively reasonable response he had to Yami attacking him or Nana berating him. Kotegawa had a different air to her, a different kind of terror that only a normal, non-special human could create. The overpowered aliens were one thing, but Kotegawa possessed all the qualities of a true-

He blinked in surprise as his thoughts were cut off by a hand weakly grabbing his shoulder. His shivering vanished and his thoughts were purged as he glanced to the side, eyes briefly widening at the sight.

Saruyama had woken up again, and though his head was still planted on his desk, he had managed to move his hand to comfort his friend, and though his facial features were covered by the large bump created by Kotegawa's chop, Rito could guess what the guy must look like.

"Just stop, Kotegawa." Saruyama said, groaning and coughing in an act exaggerating the damage the strike had dealt. "It wasn't his fault, he was staying the night with me and I made him stay up too late."

Kotegawa blinked, looking at the semi-conscious monkey. "...Seriously? Are you two children? What kind of high school boys have sleepovers still?"

Saruyama laughed, his other hand raising in a thumbs-up, and Rito could practically see the heroic aura generated by the motion as he slowly raised his head, a wide grin playing on his battered face.

"I tried to get him into the world of normal guys, but he's too far above us. He's seen too many girls, when I gave him nude or nothing, he chose nothing! How depressing!"

The boy laughed, before Kotegawa glared at him, sending another chop that sent his face falling back to the desk, his hand going limp on his friend's shoulder.

 _Your sacrifice won't be forgotten._ Rito thought, shaking his head as he finally found himself able to look at the disciplinary member, finding it much easier to do so now that the tension had been defused. Saruyama really was a good guy, even if he was a total moron.

"Y-Yeah, and I ended up oversleeping...He's really not good at waking up early, so I ended up late too. Can you forgive us for that, just this once? It won't happen again, I'm not letting him rope me into anything stupid anymore."

"...You two really are idiots." Kotegawa stated, crossing her arms. "Well...No harm was done, and it's impressive you held back your perversion for once, so I'll let you off. But if you ever are late again, I won't hesitate to react in kind."

"R-Right…" Rito said, blinking as the girl turned around to storm off.

He turned to get out his materials for the day, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't need to get too stuck on this, might as well try to have a better day now, even if the problems were mostly self-imposed.

Meanwhile, Kotegawa blinked as she found her shirt caught by someone, turning to yell at them, before shutting up as she found Lala staring at her, a soft "Yui" stated quietly as she glanced worriedly at her fiance before looking back at the black-haired girl.

"Lala-san, what's wrong?" Kotegawa asked. Lala was a nuisance too, but but nearly as much as that annoying Rito, so she was in a much nicer mood. Plus, it was rare for Lala to look worried about anything, so it set off a red flag in her mind.

"Can I talk to you after class? It's about Rito…"


	7. Nuisance

**Third chapter in a row where Saruyama takes a big role! How our idiotic monkey has grown!**

 **Seems that most comments have shifted from hating on Nana to hating on Kotegawa. Funny how things change when new information is given!**

 **Not sure whether next month's chapter will be early or late due to it being February. We'll just have to play it by ear, I guess.**

* * *

Currently, the boys rested at a bench, drinking from water bottles that Saruyama had bought beforehand while they recovered from the first round of PE class. While Saruyama was lying on his back, one arm draped off the side of the bench and onto the ground, panting heavily from exhaustion, Rito was faring much better, laughing as he lowered his bottle to talk.

"You really aren't great with track, aren't you?" he asked. "Didn't you manage one extra lap last week?" Normally, he'd also be tired, but today, he had way more energy than usual, and so had barely broken a sweat despite the constant moving they'd been doing. The class was separated by gender, and he didn't really have any male friends besides the monkey beside him, so he didn't have to worry nearly so much about hiding his bandaged hand, which he simply rested on his lap, and with that concern gone, he felt a lot more at ease. Certainly, he wasn't as on edge as in the classroom.

Their sensei seemed to not have even noticed that their presence was missing, or that they'd come to class at all, so he didn't really have to worry about the old man paying any attention. Sometimes, it was nice to get away with things.

"I don't have your monster stamina!" the poor boy cried, turning his water upside-down over his head to pour some of it onto his face. "It's hot, I'm tired, and my head hurts from Kotegawa hitting me!"

Today was odd. Kotegawa normally didn't get violent, but she must have been in a bad mood already, and it didn't help that Nana has also been particularly trigger-happy that morning. Was there something in the air that made everyone go to their extremes?

At least Yami wasn't here to complete the trifecta. Considering her usual trips, she'd probably be in Hokkaido until late evening at least, so he had time to relax whenever the others weren't around.

"Earth to Rito." his friend said, and he blinked, looking next to him, where Saruyama had sat up, the water dumped on his face dried off in the air. "You've been spacing out a lot today. You okay?" He grinned. "Don't let Kotegawa get to you, man. She likes to shout, but she's not really mad at you. Probably she's always known that all your mistakes were accidents or my fault."

The brown-haired boy sweatdropped at the statement. "Should you really be saying that so proudly?" he asked, and Saruyama laughed, wrapping the hand not holding his water around his friend's shoulder.

"How about we have a little challenge?" the monkey asked. "A test to see what we'll be doing on our boys' day out this Saturday. We race for the rest of class, and whoever gets the least laps done in the time given has to pay for the group. It's only us and a couple of my first year friends, don't worry about it being too expensive."

Rito mused over the bet, before smiling. "Alright, you're on." he stated, and the two stood up to return to the track field.

~~~Later~~~

Rito had never been athletic despite his natural ability to run, but Saruyama had fared much worse, and now lay spread-eagle on the ground, gasping for air as his friend lightly kicked his side to make sure he was alive.

"So, about that bet." Rito said, and the boy groaned, staring up at the sky with glazed eyes.

"Y-You win…" he said slowly, huffing to regain his composure. "It wasn't even a competition...You could have...Let me win…"

Rito laughed, stepping back to let his friend sit up. "It's no fun to just let you win, isn't it?" he asked, holding his hand out and helping the boy stand when he accepted the gesture.

"Alright, fine. Have it your way. I just wanted to not have to spend my allowance!"

Rito smirked. "Well, I didn't want to either, and you made the bet in the first place!"

~~~In Class 1-B~~~

Nana had been staring at her desk for most of the first two periods, and it had not gone unnoticed by her friend, the recently revealed Trans swishing her long hair braid as she walked to the girl's table and leaned backwards over it, looking up to meet the downcast gaze of the middle princess.

"Nana? You've been so quiet, what's wrong?" Mea rarely stopped smiling, but she was smart enough to recognize when it was not time to be her normal annoyingly happy self, and right now was one of those times. "You've been gloomy all day."

The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden face in her field of view, jolting where she sat before she could process what was going on. "Oh, Mea. Sorry, it's nothing you'd care about."

The synthetic girl tilted her head, frowning as a strand of her hair lifted, forming a tiny dull blade to rest against Nana's chin, bringing her head up so that Mea could sit on her desk and look at her more comfortably. "You know I've wanted to get closer to you since all that happened with Yami and Master. Tell me anything! I'll listen!" Her usual grin returned as she held her hands up beside her ears to signify that she would hear her friend out, before blinking, and her expression morphed to one of mischief. "Hmm, unless...It has to do with Rito-senpai?"

At the shocked expression on Nana's face, coupled with the reddening of her cheeks and the frantic negative response, the other alien laughed, the blade holding her chin up vanishing as her hair returned to normal. "Looks like I got it right. Soooo, what happened? Did you guys fight again? I hope he didn't decide to lick you before me!"

The girl waved her arms, unable to speak for a moment before clearing her throat. "N-No, it's nothing like that!" She puffed out her cheek and frowned, looking away as she rested her head on her fist. "That idiot just went farther than usual today, and it's pissed me off. Seriously, he always acts so irresponsibly."

Mea was silent for several seconds, and her grin didn't change as she leaned forward, getting right up into the Devilukean's face as the girl backed her head up, reasonably creeped out by the motion. They may have reconciled after the mess a while ago, but that didn't means he couldn't recognize when Mea was being a little too friendly.

"Was it to do with the ba-th-ro-om?" she asked, and the girl's flustered expression returned in full force.

"No, what are you talking about? It's nothing like-" She was cut off as she noticed the small motion of Mea's eyes, narrowing just slightly as the gleam within them seemed to fade. "Wait, do you…"

The girl backed off, waving her hand in the air. "I Psycho Dived into your mind when you walked in. I thought you'd talk to me about it earlier, but I guess I was wrong. It is a pretty big deal, I should have assumed you wouldn't want to talk to me, who could be disastrous in that regard, about it."

The girl blinked, staring at her friend. "So you really...Wait! Don't spy into my mind!" She threw a weak punch, easily caught by Mea's Trance hair, and the girl laughed as she hopped off Nana's desk.

"I won't pry too much. I've been curious about Senpai ever since I first Dived into him, but I'm not the kind of person to go around spilling all his secrets." She smiled, tapping the side of her head with a finger. "I'm not going to read his mind, I want to see you figure things out along with anyone else who may be involved. I'm not interested in playing the villain anymore, after all."


	8. Observer

**A new chapter begins! It feels oddly like a long time since the last one, even though this one is coming out early. I wonder why. Maybe because I've decided on the direction the story will be taking at last! I hope you all enjoy, I don't have much to comment on this time!**

* * *

As the class went about their gym class, two of the girls were notably missing, the usually over-excited Devilukean having dragged the class president off to the water fountains at the side of the building to talk.

"So, Lala-san. What was this about?" Kotegawa stood with her arms crossed, looking at her alien classmate as the other girl fidgeted with the hem of her uniform skirt. "It isn't really like you to be so secretive, why not just shout to the wind like you usually do?"

The pinkette shook her head, frowning before shaking her head to clear her thoughts and look at her friend. "It isn't something I can just tell anyone. I thought you'd be able to do something about it, Yui…"

"We're in the middle of class, we can't just sit here all day." the disciplinary member stated, frowning. "What, did Yuuki-kun do something stupid again? It's always him...Seriously, if he's gotten so bad that it's even bothering you-"

She was cut off by the girl saying her name in a strange combination of a whisper and a shout. "Yui! It's not anything like that!" Lala shook her head, glancing around to make sure nobody was within earshot. "You talked to him earlier, didn't you notice his hand?"

Kotegawa blinked, confused by the question. "His hand?" She tapped her chin with a finger as she thought back to the conversation. "I don't think I noticed anything, why? Was it another one of your inventions doing something weird again?"

The alien sighed at the question. "So you really didn't notice…" she said to herself, before returning her gaze to the girl, an expression of resolve across her face. "Look more carefully next time you see him. But I guess, if you didn't see anything, you can't really help…" She turned around to head back to the girls' group on the track, before stopping as she found a hand on her shoulder, turning her head to face the concerned look the human gave her.

"Lala-san. It's very rare to see you worried about anything, much less anything about that idiot. If something happened, tell me. I can't make any promises as your friend, but I'll at least listen as a member of the disciplinary committee."

Lala frowned, unsatisfied by the statement, before deciding that it was good enough to turn back to face her, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply to regain her composure.

"This morning, we had the same situation we normally do." There was no need to explain further, Kotegawa knew how crazy the household could be even without Rito involved. "And normally, everyone forgets about stuff like that in a few minutes, but today…" She had to inhale again to keep her voice from shaking. "He smashed a mirror for some reason. Mikan tried to hide it, but I saw his hand. I don't think I've ever seen him bleeding before, and he's never punched anything..."

Kotegawa was silent for several seconds, pondering over the girl's words, before sighing. "So, you want me to investigate and see if I can't figure out what's wrong. Is that right?"

The girl nodded. "I think you can do better than me, I feel like if I asked, he'd just deflect it like nothing's wrong...And, can you promise me that you'll be lighter on him?"

Kotegawa hesitated, before nodding. "If he doesn't give me reason to, then yes, I can be a little more lenient as long as he actually acts sorry if something happens. I can't just look aside if he does something intentionally. He's still shameless."

"I didn't expect you to. Just, be nice until we know what's wrong…"

The girl nodded, humming in thought. "Don't worry too much. He's been pretty calm lately, I've noticed that he has fallen over onto girls a lot less than normal, so maybe he's just having trouble with his newfound balance now that he isn't so clumsy anymore. I bet that he just fell over and smashed his hand trying to catch himself." She smiled, a infectious expression that her friend quickly copied.

Lala nodded, her mood lifting at the reassurance. "Yeah, you're probably right. You're better than me at reading people, I knew I could trust you!" She looked over at the track, laughing hesitantly as she sweatdropped. "We should get back to class, then…"

Kotegawa laughed, nodding as she waved her hand. "Go ahead without me, I need some water now."

As the alien princess nodded and ran off, Kotegawa's smile dropped, and she turned around to lean over the water fountain, hands planted on the corners as she dipped her head down to take a sip.

She'd put on a brave face, but it was mostly because she knew how honest Lala was normally. If she'd shown any sign of worry, then that girl would pounce on it like a hawk, and she'd never have left her alone. Kotegawa had told the truth in that she doubted it was anything particularly serious, but even though she still kept her distance from the boy, she was well aware how innocent he was. Whether his constant ecchi was accidental or not, he certainly was not a typical delinquent. Turning to violence, even with nobody around, was not his style.

She'd take Lala's request to heart. It was her duty as a disciplinary member, of course, but more than that, Rito was her friend. If something was wrong, then she'd figure out what it was. The worst that could happen was that she'd have to explain it away as her thinking he'd been planning something, after all.

She had her alibi now, and, convincing herself that that was the only reason, she resolved to see it through to the end.

She blinked as she looked around, thinking she'd heard Lala return, but finding nothing but a light breeze, ignored the odd feeling and turned to head back to the others.

~~~In Class 1-B~~~

Nana sat at her desk, staring blankly at the paper in front of her while their teacher droned on about the lesson they were going over today. Mea had left by now, vanishing somewhere as the lesson had bored her, and nobody really cared to get in the Trans' way whenever she felt like doing something.

Unlike usual, Momo had pointedly ignored her today, sitting off in her own world and doodling in her textbook, avoiding her schoolwork just like her smaller twin. With Mea gone, that meant Nana had nobody to talk to, and with nobody else around, it left her stuck in her own thoughts.

That morning had felt just like the standard up until whatever had happened in the bathroom. She hadn't been able to see much at the time, but something had definitely been wrong, and while part of her reminded her that she couldn't be at fault for doing what she always did, another part said that perhaps she had attacked the boy one too many times.

It was already well known how powerful the trio, even her as the weakest sister, were, and though she was very good at holding back even against him, she was fully aware that she could legitimately injure him if she really wanted to. As it was, she always was careful to only strike just hard enough to get the point across. She was very careful never to actually hurt Rito, she didn't want to drag her older sister into a depression after all.

But she may have gone too far this time. She didn't think she'd done anything different, but it was possible she'd made a mistake and pressed somewhere wrong or waited just a little too long before releasing him, and her father had crammed enough combat knowledge into her that she was aware how oxygen loss could affect the brain. Had she slipped up and made him too disoriented to stop himself from doing whatever he'd done when he was alone?

Maybe she was thinking too much into it. She shook her head, lightly slapping her cheeks to bring her focus back to the lesson.

She really didn't need to give Mea any more fuel to tease her with, and the magenta-haired girl had already announced her involvement. And she had to remember that this was probably not a bigger problem. Rito had never acted strange before, this was the first time he'd ever acted strangely compared to his usual self, so it had to have been an isolated event.

It was easy to shake off the feeling of something big happening as she convinced herself that it was simply her fault. She'd just have to work up the courage to apologize, and the boy would easily forgive her. It was just how he was, nothing done against him could stick.


	9. Luster

**Oh boy, so, big changes coming to the story! As some of you may have noticed from the reviews, last chapter was a pretty lackluster one, and I am well aware that it was a mistake to leave it at that after a full month. So, after realizing another story was taking forever for me to write, I decided to implement a big change to the scheduling of this story!**

 **As you know, currently it has been that Snapped is updated on or before the last day of every month since its inception, and as a result, I've noticed that some readers have been building unnecessary hype that then falls flat when the things actually happen. So, in order to remedy this, I've decided to switch places between this and my other small story, What Goes Down. My reasoning is simple. This story has a bigger reader base and stands to lose the most from the massive breaks between chapters, while that one is small and has no regulars that I know of. So, this one will now be updated whenever I can get to it (multiple times a month), while that story will take its end of the month slot! I will be posting a similar note to this on the next chapter of that story when it comes out, for anyone who reads it.**

 **This change has both pros and con, so I'll mention both. Frst, the pros. Obviously, there will be more chapters and they will come out much more frequently. As a result, I can also answer reviews much faster as well, and the unnecessary buildup which leads to letdowns will hopefully be diminished. The con is that this means chapters will probably remain shorter than they were before, around the length of this one or Chapter 7. But, hopefully the multiple chapters will make up for the shortness of individual ones! Feel free to give feedback on whether you think this is a good idea, and other changes if you think there are any that should be made! Now, without further ado, enjoy this first early chapter!**

* * *

Rito yawned as he sat in the locker room, tugging off his gym shirt while the rest of the boys did the same, though he stayed on the bench in front of his locker, not particularly wanting to deal with the usual banter today. He was certainly doing better than Saruyama after over a year of dodging Yami, but he wasn't particularly fit, so he was still tired from the constant physical activity, and his hand still hurt from the twisting he had to do in order to get the shirt off.

He tossed the gym shirt into his locker and reached to grab his normal uniform before he blinked as he found someone sitting next to him, and smiled, tossing the yellow outer vest of the uniform over the bandages to hide them as he waved to the pepper-haired boy, who had already fully changed and was simply loitering around the room before the next class.

Ren Jewelria didn't appear often ever since the Trans started showing up more often, but he was a nice guy, especially after he had stopped chasing Lala and constantly bothering Rito about his challenges, so the boy didn't mind him being close by.

"Yo, Yuuki." the Memorzian said, waving. "You don't need to hide, we all already saw it."

Rito blinked, before laughing hesitantly. "Yeah...Guess I couldn't hide it forever." he said, sighing as he set down the vest next to him and tugged at the shirt to get it on. He braced for the inevitable question, but when it didn't come and he got the shirt on without incident, he turned to the boy, who simply shrugged.

"Not any of our problem." he said, smiling and setting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "But let me just tell you, I hope that means you're finally growing up."

Rito tilted his head in confusion as he moved to get on the other layers of the uniform. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, and the boy stood up, turning away to head out the door.

Without looking back, he walked away, raising his hand to wave. "I lived with another person inside me for 16 years." he stated. "I won't ask what's up, but I can see when someone else is too."

Without giving an explanation, the boy walked away, and Rito turned back to his locker, frowning as he lifted his bandaged hand. It didn't hurt as much anymore, enough that he could clench it without too sharp a pain jolting down his arm, but he'd still need the bandages to stay on until the skin had healed.

What did Ren mean by that? He wasn't particularly close to the boy, not since he split from Run, and it was hard to guess what he was thinking. No doubt he had formed his own idea of the cause of this injury, but why would he bother mentioning it only to run away again so quickly?

He shook his head, clearing his mind of the confusion. He'd ask Ren later about it if he saw him, but for now, he had to get dressed and get to class. He didn't need to be late again after showing up so late that morning.

~~~Later, in the hallway~~~

Rito sighed as he walked towards his next class, having left his bag in his locker as the next class was cooking, so he didn't need his supplies. With his hand free, he could keep it tucked away in his sleeve, and though his knuckles still showed a little, for the most part he could hide the problem somewhat naturally as he walked.

He looked up from his facing the floor as he heard someone running, and as he rounded the corner, he turned wide, giving plenty of space for whoever it was to notice his presence and get around, and he blinked as he saw a magenta blur barrel past him, and a sigh of annoyance as Mea stopped dead in her tracks, whirling around and slapping his face with the end of her braid as he blinked, waving aside her hair as she grinned at him.

"Rito-senpai, you were supposed to fall on me!" she complained, though her face still remained in her usual grin.

The boy laughed nervously, always uncomfortable around the excitable girl, and rubbed the back of his head with his uninjured hand. "Er...Sorry?" he asked, and she laughed, stepping closer to him as he paced back, finding her leaning very closely to him.

"As punishment, you have to lick me!" she said, laughing as her hair raised up, the tip of the braid poiking his chest. He blinked as the grin suddenly faded, her hair lowering back to its normal position, but concentrated more on her statement.

"M-Mea, you know I won't do that!" he complained, and stared in surprise as she backed off, arms planted at her side as she looked down.

She remained like that for several seconds, before looking back at him, her gaze a little more serious than usual, but still with the same glint she usually had. "Yeah, I figured. You've started to get pretty boring to tease, you know?" She laughed again, her arms moving to her hips. "You were so much fun before you learned to keep your balance when you beat Yami-oneechan."

Unsure how to respond, Rito simply stood and stared at her, confused by the oddly sincere assessment she gave him. "Well...It's good that I'm not falling on people anymore, isn't it?" he asked. "It means I'm not causing so much unnecessary trouble-"

"It means you lost the only thing making you an interesting human." the Trans said, and his eyes went wide, shocked at the statement. Her expression didn't change at all, but despite the disconnect between her face and her words, he could tell she was being sincere. "So don't worry. I won't bother you anymore."

Instinctively, he lifted his hand, but she turned around to skip away before he could do anything, and he blinked, looking down at the hand he'd chosen to raise.

Without realizing it, he'd exposed the bandages to her, and she hadn't reacted at all. Mea had never been so serious, even when she was in the middle of fighting for Nemesis, and the idea that she'd change so suddenly baffled him. Had something happened to her recently?

He had done his best to help her just as he did her elder sister, but he simply did not know enough about Mea to fathom this sudden change. So, all he could do was walk away, leaving yet another strange loose end that he had no idea how to fix.

It seemed like a lot of people were like that recently. They were acting odd, talking to him more often than usual or saying weird, uncharacteristic things. It was worrisome, and he hated worrying about people. But what was he supposed to do? He was just one person, and it was probably his fault somehow anyway.

 _Or it could be theirs._ He shook off the thought, waving away Inner Rito's pessimism and continuing to walk. He didn't need to let the inner version of himself out now. Here at school, it was the time when he most needed Outer Rito to stay unbroken. The difference between the two did hold significance to him, but he knew that there was a reason for both's existence. Nobody could help him resolve the problem, he simply had to decide for himself which version was safer to keep alive.

Maybe Ren and Mea were right. Maybe he was changing without realizing it. But for as long as he could, he would keep that change from affecting anyone else. That was how he always operated, after all. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting anyone, so he'd just live with it until it went away on its own.

Having made his decision, his smile widened, more natural now as he felt a weight lift off him. That's right, he didn't need to be worried about anything. Inner Rito, Outer Rito, whichever one was right, it would win out over the other. No need to hide anything, and if anyone noticed and questioned him, he wouldn't push them away. Maybe that was what he needed after all.

As he walked, he let his sleeve slip up to its normal position on his arm, revealing the bandage to the world.

He had the feeling he was being watched, but it quickly disappeared when he looked around to see who it was, and so, he just ignored it, letting it slide as simply part of his newfound openness.

~~~Elsewhere in the halls~~~

Mea hummed to herself as she walked, idly looking out the windows as she went on her way, before giving a questioning sound as she stopped, turning to face in front of her, where her path was cut off by the familiar face of her sister. The girl grinned, waving to Yami and crossing her hands behind her back.

"Yami-oneechan! It's good to see you again!" As usual, there was little change in the girl's face at the eager greeting. "I haven't seen you since Darkness!"

"Mea." Yami stated with a flat voice, ad though her hands and hair remained normal, to an experienced fighter like Mea, it felt as if she was going to snap at any second, even if all her physical expressions didn't suggest such a thing.

"What's wrong, Yami-oneechan?" she asked, laughing. "You've been gone so much recently, I heard you went to Hokkaido without telling anyone but Mikan-chan!"

"That was a lie." the girl said quietly. "I've been here in Sainan all day, observing Yuuki Rito's activities."

The magenta-haired Trans blinked, before her grin turned mischievous. "Oh? You're admitting to stalking him now? What, do you still think you haven't apologized enough for that whole mess? I already told you, it was mine and Neme-chan's fault, you shouldn't take the blame, you know?"

"I'm well aware that he has already forgiven me, but I'm sure you've noticed the change in him since that happened, given how you talked to him just now."

The younger Trans' grin softened to a smile, and her laugh was sheepish now, knowing what her superior was talking about. "So, you did notice how weird the timing was. I promise, it had nothing to do with me. I'm interested in him because he's so weird, if he's become normal, there's no point in messing with him. Don't you think-"

"The first time he ever caught himself mid-fall was when I was still in Darkness." Yami interrupted, frowning. "And then, he willingly did many ecchi things to me, and since then, he has not had a single incident save for what other people have intentionally induced."

"...Right, so?" It wasn't Mea's concern, both of them knew that. The younger girl wasn't a part of things now that Nemesis had backed off.

"So, I have a favor to ask you. Call it penance for everything you did."

The girl's eyes widened, before narrowing again, and after thinking it over carefully, she finally nodded. "Alright. I'm listening."


	10. Taiyaki

**As of 6 minutes ago, happy birthday, DKDC!**

 **It seems that changing my schedule without mentioning it last chapter made a lot less people see it posted, or perhaps it simply wasn't conducive to reviewing. Oh, well, now we have another one, and close to the original timing before the change! Not much to say, so I'll keep this AN short and sweet, like a taiyaki.**

* * *

Rito hummed to himself as he washed his hands in the sink built into the work station, smiling to himself as Saruyama helped Sairenji with sorting out the ingredients and tools they'd be using. Rito wasn't a very good chef, but he had learned a little from observing Mikan, and he was well aware of the blunette's experience. It seemed she also shared his reservations about letting Saruyama deal with the food, because she, as the de facto leader of the trio, had relegated him to operating room technician, keeping the area clean and passing them the tools they'd need once they got started.

Lala wasn't present, having been essentially banned from any cooking classes after repeated disasters the first few times she tried, and thankfully, Momioka and Sawada were already invested in their own station, so there wasn't anything to interrupt the relatively peaceful atmosphere of the small group.

However, that being said, despite Saruyama not pointing it out and Sairenji staying quiet, she still cast glances occasionally as Rito replaced the bandages on his hand, which had gotten wet when he washed them off, and tossed the wadded up old gauze in the trash. He pretended not to notice her worried expression as he brought the bandaged hand into a fist to ensure that he'd wrapped it properly, and smiled. "Okay, all good." he stated, and the girl nodded, coughing into her hand before looking at the recipe page, a simple one for making taiyaki, which Rito did have some experience in making for Yami.

"Let's see...Saruyama-kun, filter out some brown sugar. It doesn't really matter how much, just enough to have extra. Yuuki-kun, you'll be doing the bean paste, so start blending it." She tapped her chin as she thought over the process, and Rito smiled at the sight.

He rarely got to see Sairenji nowadays, and even less often did she go into leadership mode like now. It was easy to forget that she was a skilled athlete, considering how shy she always was and how little she seemed to show up nowadays. Curse those legal issues.

He went to work as she'd said, opening up the blender and dumping in the container of beans they'd been provided, before moving to also include the sugar, while Sairenji tilted her head.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to blend first, then mix."

"The shop I go to all the time does it this way, I've tried it a few times too and it does pretty well." he said, grinning. "It makes the paste chunkier, but Yami seems to like it, and she's basically a connoisseur of Earth food at this point."

The girl blinked, before smiling, and she had to bring her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Yuuki-kun, you're always thinking of other people, aren't you? Even when they aren't around."

Saruyama laughed, reaching his hand to slap his friend's shoulder, before catching himself and bringing it back before the brown sugar could go flying from the sieve he was holding. "That's Rito for you, he can't keep his nose out of other people's business no matter what he does!"

The boy smiled at the two's statements, before turning to take the now-blended mixture out of the blender, adding water to the bowl and starting to mix it. "She's over at the house so often that Mikan taught me how to make it, since she sleeps over at friends' houses sometimes and I'm always at home. Though, it's pretty much just making a batch every week or so and leaving them in the fridge."

"It's surprising that you let Yami-chan get so close all the time, isn't she pretty much trying to kill you every time she sees you?" Saruyama asked, and the boy shook his head, turning to focus on mixing.

"That's more of a school thing, and she never does more than give me a few scratches. I guess you could say it's her daily ritual, and it's really not that big a deal. I shouldn't stop her, especially after the stuff I had to do when she went Darkness."

Sairenji frowned at the statement. "I heard about that from Lala-san. You never really mentioned it afterwards, how did she react anyway? I know Yami-san is very against ecchi things, even though it was kind of surprising when she showed up with you…"

Right, he'd forgotten that she had witnessed the start of the battle proper along with Kotegawa. "She apologized and didn't really hurt me too much afterwards, so things just kind of went back to normal. Though, I do get the feeling she's been avoiding me a little, she hasn't been to school as much as before…"

"Nobody really knows what Yami-chan is thinking." Saruyama said, laughing as he passed the now-filtered sugar on to Sairenji, who set to work starting on the batter while Rito turned on the stove to cook the beat paste. "I wouldn't let it get to you, if anyone could guess what was in her head, they'd deserve some kind of prize."

Rito chuckled at his friend's statement. "Except Mea. She'd be cheating."

The monkey boy tilted his head in confusion, before nodding in understanding. "Ohh, right, you did mention that she's a Trans too. Can she read minds?" Rito didn't need Psycho Dive to recognize the blush stickers that formed on his friend's face as his grin widened to a dopey expression. "I wonder what she'd think of she saw inside my head! I've got nothing to hide!"

Sairenji sighed while Rito shook his head. "It's hard to hide anything if there's nothing there, Saruyama." he stated.

The trio continued to chatter, mostly meaningless stuff related to their classes and the construction that made Sairenji's route to the school annoyingly longer than usual, as they continued to make their taiyaki.

Soon, it was time to finish it, and as Sairenji pressed space into the molds with her finger, Rito stuck the paste inserts in and let Saruyama close them up, resulting in a set of six relatively decent-looking pieces sitting on the display plate.

"Alright!" Saruyama said, grinning as he took one, and the other two did as well, leaving the other three to be graded as the teacher had begun walking around to check on each group's progress. "I've been starving since we started, let's eat!"

Sairenji smiled as she held hers up, while Rito did the same. "Yes, let's see if Yuuki-kun's method worked. Itadakimasu!"

While Saruyama stuffed half the pastry into his mouth in one bite, Sairenji gave a much more sensible bite, and both of them ate in silence as Rito watched, waiting in anticipation for the verdict.

He didn't really mind if it wouldn't go well, this was just for fun after all. Plus, this was Mikan's recipe, and he trusted her skill. And, with the glittering expression in the two's eyes, it seemed to work.

"So good!" Saruyama said, waving the other half as Sairenji nodded.

"I didn't realize that you could make it clump up like that!" she stated, smiling as she took another bite. "I've always tried to make it as smooth as possible, but it has a bunch of chunks of less sweet stuff, and it balances out the sugar, so-"

Rito couldn't help but tune out the cooking term-filled ranting, but he still laughed anyway, happy to be complimented by his longtime crush. "It was just a small change, and I was just copying what Mikan told me. It could have ended in disaster for all I knew."

"Yami-san has good taste if this is how she likes it." Sairenji said as Saruyama took another one from the plate. "Hmm, maybe if we put a little less flour in the batter, then we could make it more obvious too...I might start making this at home too!"

Rito laughed again at the excited girl, while Saruyama nodded in agreement. "Hmm, hmm. Maybe I'll use it as a peace offering if she ever bothers me. Kind of like throwing some clothing at a polar bear so you can run!"

"She isn't that scary!" Rito complained, and his friend simply shook his head.

"Hmm, you're right. She isn't scary, she's terrifying. Anyone but you wouldn't stand a chance!


	11. Hawk

**Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter! The last few weeks I've had almost twice as many work shifts as usual, so it's been harder to get time to write...But, I managed to get it done, and at least, I think it went well! Not much to answer by way of reviews, so we'll just get into it.**

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Rito yawned as he walked down the hall towards the shoe lockers, shifting his school bag on his shoulder so he could pat his pants pocket and make sure the last taiyaki piece, wrapped for safekeeping, was still there after sitting there for the last classes of the day, and with the confirmation, he nodded to himself, before looking around and grinning as he saw Lala, already finishing with changing her shoes at her locker.

He walked up to her, waving his uninjured hand as he called her name to get her attention. "Yo, Lala. You disappeared from class right when the bell rang, are you okay?"

The girl jolted in surprise, having not expected his presence, and whirled around to face him, an expression of shock briefly on her face before it vanished, replaced with her usual smile, and a light blush across her face that, while not frequent, wasn't uncommon either. "R-Rito!" she said, and he blinked at the odd tone her voice gave. It was rare for her to stutter like that, Lala was always a person who spoke first and thought later after all.

The answer seemed to come in the form of a letter she was holding, the spiral brand of her inventions stamped to the front as he tilted his head. "Oh? Something from Deviluke?" he asked, and she glanced between him and the paper, before her usual demeanor returned, holding her hand up to wave the paper in the air.

"It's...just another request from Papa for me to go home. I'll reject again, but more importantly, you're not hiding your-" She was cut off as her eyes widened in surprise, and her arms were lifted to make way for the grabby hands of Momioka Risa and Sawada Mio, who grinned as they rested their heads on the girl's shoulder and, as usual, squished her breasts, one per person.

"Oh~They're the same as always. You just don't gain weight, do you, Lalacchi?" Sawada asked as Momioka laughed in the girl's ear.

"What kind of freaky alien genetics let you never lose shape? Ahh, what I wouldn't give to just fall asleep on these!"

"Risa-chan, Sawada-san!" Lala said, blinking but, in typical Lala fashion, she didn't seem particularly embarrassed by the position, despite Rito groaning at the sight.

"C-Can you please not do that?" he asked, and Momioka, the taller of the two and therefore closest to his height, smirked at him.

"What's wrong, we're just giving Lala our usual greeting!" she said, separating from the alien and humming as she rooted in her bag for a few papers and handed them to him. "By the way, here's that thing I promised. Sorry it took so long, it was pretty hard to get everything together, you know?" As Rito reached for it, she pulled it back and grabbed his bandaged hand, lifting it up as her smirk widened. "Don't get your hands too messed up, you'll need them, dar-li-ng…"

Sawada giggled at her friend's antics, while Lala looked confused, uncertain how to respond to the unusual interaction. Of course, even the innocent Lala was aware that Momioka tended to tease everyone, but focusing on Rito had become increasingly rarer over the semester, so-

She didn't have time to respond as the trademark cry of "Harenchi!" sounded, making the decision for her as Kotegawa appeared seemingly out of nowhere to grab both Momioka and Rito's hands, for some reason ignoring the blatant groping the girl's partner in crime was doing right beside them, and glared at the papers, then at the boy. "So, what is this all about, Yuuki-kun? First you're late, then when I come by to check on you, you're making deals with Momioka?!"

The girl laughed at her expression, her voice keeping the same lilt as before. "My, Kotegawa, I didn't realize we were close enough not to be using honorifics!"

Kotegawa blinked as Sawada let go of Lala so she could pipe in. "You know it could have just been him helping her on an assignment, right?" she asked, and Kotegawa blinked again, her hands trembling a little where she gripped their arms. She looked around, and, realizing that some other students were looking at them, her face slowly went red, before she quickly let go and backed off.

"I knew I shouldn't have been worried…" she mumbled under her breath, and she jolted as she found Momioka leaning down to eye level.

"What's that? Speak up, the disciplinary president shouldn't be so meek!" she said, before laughing as Sawada started to head away, having gotten bored of the interaction by now. "For the record, Yuuki had asked me to get him an application for the place Mio works at since I'm a regular there. Chill out, I was just being helpful."

Kotegawa stared as Rito set the papers in his bag, sweatdropping as Lala tilted her head. "You're getting a job?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I was just thinking, we're going to be starting our final year of high school soon, and Mikan and I have basically been living off my dad's allowance and your research funding. And Momioka's taken me there before, so I at least know what I'd be getting into. Although, I did ask about it two weeks ago…"

The girl tapped her head with her knuckles and grinned. "It's been hectic lately for me too, my parents put up stupidly strict curfew after the whole thing with Yami-san, so it was only just now that I got them to let me off again. Sorry about that! I hope to see you there next time!"

With that, she turned to run off, catching up to her best friend as they started the walk home, leaving the trio behind.

Lala smiled at the revelation. "Maybe I'll go there some time, I've never seen you working before!"

He laughed, waving his hand nonchalantly. "It's a maid cafe, they'll stick me in the kitchen and I won't be out unless I'm coming in or ending shifts. I did a little research before I asked, I'm not that dense that I'd just start a job knowing nothing about the process."

Kotegawa frowned, crossing her arms and standing straight in an effort to seem bigger than she really was, perhaps to counteract her embarrassment at the misunderstanding.

Rito didn't show it, but he internally flinched at the thought of " _It makes sense, though. You were talking suspiciously to Momioka."_ running though his mind.

"You can't have a part-time job without school permission!" she stated firmly, and he blinked, tilting his head before turning to shout to the principal, who had, as usual, been creeping on some girl he'd found, squatting behind a trash can.

"Is it fine if I have a job?" he asked, and the man turned to him, holding his finger over his mouth.

"Shh. Sure, whatever, just don't tell them I'm here!" he said, and the boy shrugged as he turned back to Kotegawa, who stared wide-eyed at the entire thing.

"...You've gotten cheeky since that whole incident." she said, frowning. "I hope whoever gave you that injury didn't legitimately turn you over to delinquency."

He blinked, and found Lala standing in front of him, and though he couldn't see her face as she faced the other girl, he could hear a slight serious tone in her voice.

"Yui, I told you-" She was cut off by the human's harrumph.

"Yuuki-kun, if you've really changed that much that even Lala-san noticed, then I'm going to be watching you like a hawk from now on. Be prepared." With that, she whirled around, leaving the two alone as she stormed off.

Rito blinked, confused by the interaction. "Uh, Lala, what's she talking about?" he asked, and to his surprise, the pinkette bit her lip, before turning around to face him again and bowing briefly.

"Sorry, Rito, but I need to check on one of my tests at home. Can we use Pyon Pyon Warp-kun?" She raised her arm, where the device, apparently upgraded yet again, was fixed. When had she had time to put it on?

He instinctively backed up, raising his hands as he knew exactly what the thing did, after so many times experiencing its failures with various other people. "E-Er, I really don't think that's a good idea. You go ahead, if it's urgent I can just walk home alone…"

She grinned, laughing hesitantly before standing up. "I'll be right back when I'm done and walk the rest of the way with you!" she confirmed, pressing her finger on the bracelet, and, to his astonishment, she disappeared, clothes and all. Had she really managed to succeed in fixing its issues already?

It seemed that even she was changing, how odd. He scratched his head, before deciding that he really couldn't do anything about it, though his inner self was bugging him now, more and more concerned about the recent events after Kotegawa's outburst.

Kotegawa was one of his Three Nightmares, and though Nana was acting as usual as far as he knew, it seemed the black-haired girl would be doing whatever it took to figure him out. He started heading out on his own, pondering over the issue in his head.

Well, he had dealt with similar things relating to Kotegawa before. It would be fine as long as the last of the trio didn't appear.

"Yuuki Rito." came a soft voice from behind him, and he froze as his foot planted on the ground, turning to look sideways at the source of the voice.

Speak of the Devil, and she appears.


	12. Yami

**Took longer than expected, but I think this was well worth the wait. Possibly my favorite chapter to write in this story so far!**

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"Y-Yami, what's up?" he asked, his uninjured hand instinctively closing as he stood still, staring at the girl. Run-ins with her were routine, he knew the song and dance by now. Start with something important, he'd mess up something trivial, and then spend the next few minutes running for his life before she gave up. It was already playing out in his head, and Inner Rito didn't even need to put in his two cents on the matter this time.

She stared at him, the same unblinking expression of disinterest she usually possessed, and he could almost imagine her holding up some book in her hair hand, though today, she went without, choosing to simply go without any of her possessions save for her trademark battle dress. "I've returned from Hokkaido." she stated flatly. "I was unable to find what I was looking for."

He was still tense, but it wasn't like he didn't know what to expect, and he knew Yami never actually tried to injure him, or at least, never succeeded in doing so, so while there was a spring ready to release, it wouldn't be very explosive when it did, and he nodded at the statement. "Sorry to hear that, that's a long trip to make to not get anything from it, isn't it? You came back a lot earlier than expected too, I wasn't even expecting you to show up in time for dinner today."

A small nod, the closest to a smile that he could normally get out of the deadpan ex-assassin. "Thank you for the invitation, but I still am not confident in meeting Mikan again yet." She frowned, looking down at the ground as her cheeks grew a bit pinker, and Rito nodded in understanding, his smile widening as he laughed.

"I told you not to worry about it." he said, and she looked up, her face fighting to return to her usual expression as she stared at him. "Remember, you went around personally apologizing to everyone who Darkness caught for the next week after it happened? I'm sure Mikan cares more about that than the transformation, especially since you weren't in control at the time."

The Trans hesitated, before sighing, closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down, her mouth returning to its usual perfectly horizontal position, though her cheeks still failed to hide her thoughts on the matter as she looked at him again. "You're too reasonable, it's hard to keep up with you, Yuuki Rito. Humans should be more impulsive."

He blinked, surprised at the earnest admission from the last person he'd have ever expected to compliment him, and raised a hand, the girl briefly jumping where she stood as she prepped for whatever he may be doing, but upon realizing that he was simply holding the back of his head, she backed off, standing straight again as the instinctively-made hair blades faded to normal strands. "You don't need to force yourself to open up." he stated. "Darkness was a different person, anything she said or did doesn't apply to you. So, as long as you don't say it, then we can both say that it was just her being your opposite, can't we?" At the widening of the blonde's eyes, he laughed. "Same goes for Mikan. She never saw Darkness in the first place, remember? As far as she knows, you had nothing to do with it."

Yami blinked a few times, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to break her stare and look to the side. "For someone as simple as you, that may be easy, but Mikan is too smart for that to work." She blinked, before shaking her head as she stepped back, narrowing her eyes as her hair raised, forming the familiar blade resting defensively in front of her. "You're too close." she stated, though he of course had not moved since she'd shown up.

He laughed, raising his hands defensively in front of him as he stepped back, giving her the extra space she wanted. "Sorry, I'll make sure not to trip on anything." he said, and blinked as he found her staring at him again for a split second, before nodding slowly.

"Good. I'm not in the mood to chase you today." she stated, her blush slowly fading back to the stone face she usually wore as she crossed her arms. "I hate ecchi."

Her catchphrase was said in a deadpan tone, but he had worked with her long enough now to recognize that it was half-hearted, an oddly soft tone for the girl who was always hunting him for virtually no reason most of the time they saw each other.

Still, regardless of their history, he found himself breathing normally, barely any more nervous than he usually was just by simply existing. Why was he so calm? She was the only person who seemed to have _changed_ that actually had a legitimate reason, being that, while the people who didn't know her well probably assumed that Darkness had just been a flip of her personality, he was close enough that he knew that it was more complex than that. Darkness was as much a part of her as the girl standing before him now, and they were both fully aware of that.

 _I guess I've matured, haven't I?_ he thought to himself, not caring which aspect of him had come up with the idea. _Well, better than being a dense moron._

"...But I don't hate idiots." she added, and he blinked, surprised by the statement as she turned around, forming wings on her back and bending her knees to take off, though she stood still as she lowered her shoulders to turn her head, looking sideways at him as one of the feathered wings covered what no doubt was another outbreak of redness on her face. "Just remember, you are my target. I don't want anyone else hurting you before I get the opportunity. That includes yourself."

He jolted, standing straighter as panic started to rise in him, confused by her statement as she turned to face away again.

"W-What do you mean?" he asked, and she sighed.

"If I say it, then we can't pretend nothing happened." she replied, and he blinked, before frowning, and before she could take off, he set his injured hand on her shoulder, the girl's wings twitching in surprise, but otherwise, the only outward sign she responded was her eyes closing as she turned her head down toward the ground.

"Yami. This is a good chance to say something I've been meaning to for a long time, so-"

He was cut off by one of her wings whapping against his face, causing him to stumble back and fall on his rear as she turned around, though they both knew that the motion was not meant out of anger, and the sad smile on her face confirmed that she was certainly not mad.

"Normally, you'd grab and take me down with you." she stated flatly, shaking her head in a failed effort to straighten her face again. "It's not very fair for you, who are so much younger than me, to be able to mature faster than I can keep up. If you keep doing that, then my target won't exist anymore and I'll be stuck on this world forever." Before he could speak, a Trans blade formed, the tip pointed at his neck. "If you don't say it, then we don't have to change anything. Don't be a hypocrite."

She sighed as once again, the blade reverted to hair without attempting to land any hits on the downed human. "But I am willing to admit that you are my best lifeline here, and huting you too much would upset Mikan. So, if you really must say something, then do now. I have somewhere to be."

He let himself crack a grin at the monologue, which switched between her typical serious demeanor and the meek one that she'd adopted ever since the incident, and as he clenched his bandaged hand and reached into his pocket for the taiyaki from earlier, he made his decision.

He had made the choice earlier not to run away, so he wouldn't. If he could clear things up with her, the most dangerous person he knew, then maybe there was hope of resolving things with no one the wiser, and s he raised the wrapped treat to her, he laughed.

"I'm terrified of you." he stated. "I'm always jumpy whenever you're around, it feels like I'll get a heart attack whenever you get close to me."

The confession came out surprisingly smooth, though he still laughed to mask his anxiety as he scratched the side of his jaw with his free hand, eyes closed as he didn't want to see her response.

Several seconds of silence passed, before he laughed again, more sheepishly than the first time. "I guess you didn't want to hear that, did you? Sorry." He began to lower the offering hand, before it was stopped by something soft grabbing it, and when he opened his eyes, he found her hand wrapped in his own, fingers around the treat as she pulled it away, though there was a clear moment of hesitation before she did so, stepping back to inspect it.

"Don't be stupid, Yuuki Rito." she stated, noe once again back to her dead stare and monotone voice. "Of course a target should fear his assassin."

With that, she kicked off the ground, flapping her wings to soar into the air and leaving him watching from below.


	13. Vessel

**I had intended to get this out much earlier, but we lost internet for several days so I had to depend on a hotspot. But here it is now!**

 **It's nice to see people liked last chapter, it was my favorite to write so far! But we'll be straying from wholesomness this chapter towards something that is much darker…**

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"I'm home!" Rito called as he pushed open the door, yawning as he stepped into the foyer to kick off his shoes.

Someone must have been in the living room, because he heard thudding as Mikan stumbled into view, laughing sheepishly as she waved. "Welcome back, Rito!" she said, a forced grin on her face that told him she probably had her friends over.

"Should I just go straight upstairs?" he asked, and she gave a sigh of relief.

"Is your hand okay?" she asked, and he blinked, before nodding, raising the bandaged hand into view.

"I can probably take them off soon, it healed pretty fast." he stated, and she nodded, standing straight and smiling.

"Just keep from putting pressure until you're sure it's fine. I could call Dad if you-"

"Don't." he replied quickly, cutting her off as he gave his default smile. "It was nothing major, just another accident. I guess I still haven't quite gotten over my condition..."

"Is that Siscon-senpai?" came a voice, and Mikan jolted as she glanced back, only to find that behind them stood the two friends that had been here almost a year before...the last classmates she'd taken here after the disaster that always seemed to follow Rito. The black-haired girl's eyes lit up as she laughed. "It is! Hello, Siscon-senpai!"

"S-Siscon?!" Rito asked, confused as Mikan turned around to hold her hands up in front of the two.

"Mami! I keep telling you, it's nothing like that! Rito just has a balance issue, and-"

"And he's a lucky pervert." stated the second girl, Kogure Sachie if Rito remembered correctly. She tapped her chin as she frowned, looking at the boy before shrugging. "Going to give us an unnecessary show again?"

The boy laughed hesitantly, shaking his head. "N-No, I'm not. I've gotten the hang of my balance now, there won't be any more repeats."

"Aw, that's boring!" Mami complained, puffing up a cheek as she pointed at him. "Really, Mikan's been trying to correct things about you all year, but that was the only interesting thing we got to see! If that stops, you'll just be some boring older brother type. Siscon is much more fun!"

"Mami, I don't think that's necessary." Kogure stated, the brunette frowning as Rito gave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Kogure-san, I really never wanted to be seen as-" He was cut off by her brief stare in his direction, before she turned to Mikan.

"Because it's much more fun to see the little sis get worked up whenever you mention her perverted Onii-chan, isn't that right?"

Mikan's face immediately flushed red as Rito spun on his heel to head up the stairs, careful not to put pressure on his injured hand holding the railing. Best to run away while he wasn't trapped, Mikan would be fine on her own. He'd had nearly two years to figure out that sometimes, tactical retreat was the right move, and he would take the chance when he could.

~~~Later, Somewhere in the Prefecture~~~

Mea hummed to herself as she stood in front of an old abandoned building, run down by age and neglect to the extent that any force and the entire facade could come down at any moment. A perfect hideaway for a criminal on the run, and exactly the place she assumed would house her target.

"Hm?" she asked as her eyes turned, catching movement on the concrete wall surrounding the property, and she smiled as a black cat showed its face, giving a soft "nya" as it jumped down from the wall and padded up to her, watching as she knelt down and extended a hand to it.

"Hiya, neko-chan." she said, keeping her voice low so as not to scare it away, and after sniffing her fingers, it leaned forward to run the side of its head across her palm, and she blinked as it opened its eyes, staring at her with an oddly lucid expression.

The gold of its irises made it clear that this was not a normal animal, just as she had expected, and she smiled, crossing her legs to sit on the ground in front of it, allowing it to crawl into her lap and purr while she stroked its back.

"It hasn't been that long, has it?" she asked the cat, smiling sadly as it looked up at her, locking eyes with the Trans as she hummed. "But I had something to ask, Ma-"

" **Don't. I'm not your master anymore, Mea."** The cat's face didn't change, so it must have been a psychic ability. Only Nemesis would be able to do such a thing, no other Trans had such precise control over her Trance. " **Why are you here? I told you to forget about me."**

"I didn't want to leave you alone." the magenta-haired girl replied. "We've been together for so long, it's hard to break away. Don't you want to come back? Rito-senpai and the others will allow you to if you ask, you know."

A chuckle as the cat meowed, hopping out of her lap and facing the door to the house, long since left open and likely rusted in place now. " **You haven't seen me since then, Mea. I am hardly fit for asking favors, even if I did something forgivable. I'm done manipulating you. I made a bet and lost, so now, I'm not interested in gambling again. Enter if you want, but you won't like what you see."**

Mea stood up, clenching her hand as she gazed towards the door, narrowing her eyes in an effort to see inside, but in the low light of the fading sun, there was nothing but shadows. She'd need to enter if she wanted to witness what had become of the person she once called Master, and so, she stepped forward, modifying the nanobots in her body to forcibly calm her breathing. This would be the first time they'd come face to face since the Darkness Incident, after all.

She coughed at the cloud of dust kicked up by her stepping foot past the threshold, waving her hand to blow the haze away as she stepped in, the cat following underfoot as she carefully stepped around it. Even a cat picked out specifically by the most intelligent bioweapon as a companion and translator still did its best to annoy people, evidently.

"Where's your master, neko-chan?" she asked the cat, who looked up at her before trotting forward ahead of her, turning to paw at a fallen doorjamb, which blocked further progress and hid the room from view.

When she caught up, she observed the area, and after determining that it wasn't too much trouble for the structure to simply destroy the blockade, her hair raised in the air, resting on her shoulder as she raised her hand to grab the newly formed trigger of her signature hair cannon, narrowing her eyes as she aimed at the door before firing.

If she'd thought ahead, she'd have covered her mouth and nose as well, but instead, she went through another coughing fit as powderized sheetrock and wood flew into the air, causing her to have to sit down for several moments to regain functionality in her lungs as the cat simply sat still, tail flicking as it watched her.

" **We don't both need to be sick, Mea. You're smarter than that."** the dark-skinned loli stated, and Mea laughed, waving her hand at the cat.

"Don't...don't worry, I'm fine. I was just surprised, that's all. Guess I've started losing my edge too, just like Yami-oneechan." She stood up again, keeping her balance on the uneven floor as she pushed aside the now half-destroyed frame, which collapsed into the room as she stepped inside.

A normal human, and indeed, most aliens as well, would have run at the sight in front of her, but Mea had seen her fair share of mutilated bodies, many of which were her own doing, so she simply looked on at the pathetic form of her former master, lying on the ground with a small half-smile on the part of her face that still existed.

Shizu's psychokinesis was incredibly effective against creatures without a true body, and when she was inside a host, Nemesis was the perfect victim, and even now, after a month of recovery, she had hardly healed at all. Large chunks of her body were missing, and though she possessed no blood nor internal organs like the other two Trans, the sight of her lying on the ground, with only half her face, stumpy pieces of limbs, and Swiss cheese for a body was still a far fall from the proud dominatrix she had been for years before.

Her eyes were not as wide open as they used to be, half-lidded as she made eye contact with her longtime servant, and had she been bothering with looking human, she'd be breathing heavily, though even that took too much effort now to bother.

"I warned you." she said, her voice ragged as she was trying to use half of her respiratory system to speak. "Your old friend has fallen far."

Mea walked forward to stand in front of Nemesis, looking down at her with a neutral expression on her face. This girl had deserved this fate, of course, but she still had known her for so long, she couldn't help but feel pain for her, even if Nemesis herself was incapable of feeling such a thing. "I came to ask you something, though you're not really able to do much right now, are you?"

A weak laugh, and Mea could almost picture her lifting a damaged hand up in a V-sign as her eye slanted up in an effort to display a grin. "The first time we come face to face in a month, and you ask me for a favor." She was silent for a few seconds, before adding to her statement. "Well? I'm listening. I'm not as bad off as I look, I can help you still, if you really trust me anymore."

"It's not me I want you to help." Mea replied, and the loli's head tilted, though it went too far without the muscles on the other side to hold it up and so twisted to a painful 90 degree angle, though she didn't seem hurt by doing so. "It's Rito-senpai."

"Yuuki Rito…?" she asked, her body slowly starting to fall to the side from the weight change of her head moving. "What could I possibly do to help him?"

"He's been acting strange since we unleashed Darkness, so I Dove into his mind." she replied, thinking back to when she'd run into him in the hall. A single touch against his sternum had been all she needed to read everything he'd been thinking about. "I don't have the expertise to help him with what I saw, the only person who can get that deep into him is you. You need a host body again as well, don't you? It'll be good for both of you."

Silence for what felt like hours, before Nemesis' eye closed as the cat meowed to announce that it was speaking now. " **I see. I can't make a judgement so quickly, but I'm listening."**


	14. Guardian

**Another chapter! Same excuse for being late as always, I just always want to have an AN and all the current reviews are self-explanatory. Enjoy!**

 **Also, for those of you reading my other story, you may know about the Discord server I made for it. Well, I'm revamping it to suit this one too, so feel free to join if you'd like! The invite is CGvKdDw**

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Rito hummed to himself as he mulled over his homework questions, tapping his desk with the fingers of his injured hand, now free of the bandages and exposing the damage to view. His knuckles had split and now had raw scabs that hurt when he clenched his fist, but like this with the fingers spread, it didn't bother him, and other than a few small bruises, there seemed to be no internal damage. He'd be good as new within days, if even that.

The upstairs had been oddly quiet today, with no sounds coming from the door connected via Lala's dimension changing panel to the different rooms of the Devilukeans, despite all of them being home now. He'd checked on them, but Momo had just told him that Lala was busy on some new invention, as she'd mentioned when she had to leave all of a sudden at school, and Nana had immediately gone to sleep upon getting home. Normally, with Mikan distracted by her friends being over, the youngest princess would try to take the opportunity to sneak into his room, but surprisingly, she'd listened this time when he asked to be alone until dinner, though he had had to show her his hand to remind her he was still not at his best to convince her.

He suspected that they believed he was angry at them, especially Nana, after what happened that morning, but he truly wasn't bothered by it now. Sure, Nana had gone farther than normal with more of a hair trigger than she tended towards, but he'd spent too long around them to be bothered by that now. It was standard fare, it would be stranger if it hadn't happened, especially given Lala's tendency to waltz into rooms without any clothes on.

No, he just wanted to be alone to focus on his work so that he could then fill out the application supplied by Momioka. He had not been lying when he told Kotegawa that he had felt like he was freeloading, and Mikan already had so much to do at home while he did nothing but water the plants and play with Celine...and those things often coincided. She may look human now, but the child was still an alien plant species, so she loved it when he doused the flower on her head with the hose.

He smiled at the thought of Celine, by far the purest of the aliens surrounding him, even if her biology sometimes caused issues. If he could see the world like she did, then he wouldn't have this inner version of himself. In fact, the outer probably wouldn't exist either. He'd be someone totally different.

He blinked, stopping his writing for a second to glance at the job application. Celine rarely crossed his thoughts, being around her had become second nature, so for her to suddenly pop up in his mind while all these other things were happening, while he was finally growing up enough to realize he needed a job to care for his family…

...Was this what goes through a father's mind?

He shook his head, chuckling to himself as he went back to his work. He didn't know why he was so happy now, not after all that negativity from this morning, but he'd ride the wave of optimism as long as it lasted. He needed it, there was too much stress around him recently.

 _It's not your fault. You're the one getting beaten down all the time. Stand up for yourself and you can feel like this forever._

"Be quiet." he said under his breath, pushing away Inner Rito's input. He had made his promise not to hold back when he had something to say, but he was just naturally a passive person to begin with, even when he was a young child protecting Mikan from bullies. He didn't need to complain if he was misunderstood or if someone kicked him, because if he just made it clear in his actions, they'd know that he didn't intend anything wrong. That's always been how he lived, he had no reason to change now.

He sighed as he reached his arms behind his head, stretching as he finished his homework at last and leaning back in his chair to stare at the ceiling, sweatdropping as an audible thud came from the room across the hall...the dimensional door technically meant the rooms inside were not connected, but sound still travelled by whatever technology it used to function. Lala must have done something ridiculous again.

He grunted as he pushed his desk to slide his chair back and stand up, walking to the door and standing still, listening in for a few seconds to make sure nobody was leaning on it as he didn't want a repeat of that morning, and once satisfied, he turned the knob to head out.

He only got one foot into the hallway before he was hit with a low breeze as a pink blur rushed past him, and he frowned as he saw white smoke coming from the now-open door. It hadn't set off the fire alarm, so it probably was just steam, but what was that girl doing now?

"Lala-san! What are you doing?!" Mikan called from downstairs, and several thuds and the sound of the door opening, plus an apology shouted by the alien, told him that the human had rushed her outside. He glanced down the stairway, where he had to stifle a laugh at the sight.

Mikan's friends were watching curiously from the door while she stood at the porch, holding a hose to douse the hunk of parts that Lala had dropped on the concrete. "Should I call someone?" he shouted down the stairs, and her friends looked over at him, Kogure holding her hand to her mouth to stifle her laugh.

"Is it always this crazy here?" she asked as Rito started down the stairs, sweatdropping again as he held the back of his head with his injured hand.

"...No, normally explosions are contained to Lala's room…" he replied, standing near them to hold the doorframe and lean out to inspect the damage. "Lala, what did you do this time?"

"Hehe…Sorry, Rito!" the princess replied, her eyes screwed upwards in an innocent grin as Mikan stood next to her, in a combat stance with the hose as her weapon to attack the dreaded Unidentifiable Melting Thing.

"La-la-sa-n…" the girl said, her tone serious as she finally felt it was safe enough to turn the water off, though she still held it in hand in case of reignition. "Apologies don't help. It would be one thing if this was new, but this isn't the first time you've burned our house down! Why are you playing with chemicals again?!"

"But...it's not on fire." the pinkette said, tilting her head. "It was supposed to be hydroelectric, but I think I left exposed wires somewhere inside, so it might have started boiling...The prototype was working fine, I don't know why this iteration didn't work properly!"

"Nothing you make ever works as intended." Mikan said, sighing as she pointed at her brother. "Rito, go set the table. I started dinner, it should be ready soon. Is Yami-san coming?"

"Er...I invited her over when I saw her today, but she rejected again." he replied, and the brunette sighed, tossing the hose aside and setting her hands on her hips.

"Honestly, does she still think I'm mad at her? If anything, I'm more annoyed at Mea, or this idiot here." She pointed at Lala, who had bent over to pick up the now-soaking former invention. "Don't take that thing back inside, just leave it there to dry. Go wake Nana up and make sure Celine's not crying. Honestly, for a genius scientist, you have really bad safeguards."

"Aye-aye!" Lala said, holding her hand up in a salut as she turned to rush back inside, happy to avoid responsibility once again as Rito sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"At least you're fast enough to handle everything." he said, and she laughed, a nervous noise to blow off steam from stressing out over the problem.

"Mami, Sachi, you're still staying over for dinner, right?" she asked the two. "Even after this mess…"

"Of course!" Mami said, grinning. "We can't let Mikan-chan go so quickly!"

"Yeah, plus I want to know what Yami-san looks like. You're always talking about her, just as much as your Onii-chan."

While Mikan's face flushed, Rito waved his hand. "Sorry, but Yami and Mikan have been having a bit of time off from each other, so she probably won't be around. She usually shows up to raid the fridge around 2 am though, if you're really dead-set on meeting her. She's kind of paranoid all the time though, so don't surprise her."

Thankful for the change in conversation, Mikan nodded. "Yeah, she's still not quite lost her old habits. Odd, though. You said you met her today, but you didn't come home with any new wounds. Got lucky dodging?"

He laughed. "Nah, she just wanted to apologize for the umpteenth time about the Darkness Incident. We talked for a bit, then she left. Probably annoyed that the books she wanted weren't for sale."

"Hokkaido's a long way to fly just to not get what you want." she said, and he crossed his arms, nodding with an affirmative grunt.

"That's exactly what I said. Who knows what goes through her mind?"


	15. Settle

**If any of you (probably most) didn't know, I do a mass upload every year on June 26th. So, until then, please ask questions, whether about the story or itself, and make suggestions for things I should do for that day!**

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The world inside Nana's D-Dial was as bright as ever, the girl sitting with one leg bent and the other flat on the ground as she watched her various captured species running around the fields she was in. She'd asked that they not bother her, so they were keeping their distance, letting her sit on her own and muse over her thoughts while watching them from afar.

Momo had ignored her for most of the school day, and as soon as they got home, her twin had all but ordered her to stay in her room and not bother anybody. Sure, they fought sometimes, but it was weird for her to react that way, and without targeting her tail as their spats usually culminated in.

Said tail flicked beside her, the spade waving in her peripheral vision in a habit she'd picked up in the last month of keeping it always in sight, just in case anything got too close and she needed to protect the weak point. Why did their race have such an obvious weakness anyway? Just to counteract their immense power?

She shook her head, reaching to grab her tail and holding the shaft just below the spade to her direct view, eyes narrowed as she thought over it. For someone like her, who had never quite learned to control her tail's natural flicking as Lala and Momo had, it was not just a physical weakness, but an emotional one as well, easily displaying to any observers what she was thinking at any particular time. She just had avoided it being a problem by hiding it behind her, but now that she was keeping it to the side more often, that tactic had become ineffective.

She blinked, before letting go of the tail, tapping her cheeks in her palms to clear her thoughts and return to watching her pets. Her concerns right now weren't about her own lack of emotional security, they were about the situation today.

Normally, she'd have immediately assumed Momo was just going to attempt something with Rito, knowing Lala was busy on some commissioned project, but Mikan had friends over, so there was little chance her perverted sister would be able to get time alone with him. Plus, even Mea had noticed something was off, and if Mea and Momo coincided on anything, then something had to be different from normal.

Here, alone and far from anyone who might bother her, she didn't have to be so uptight about her thoughts, so she knew exactly the source of the issue. That morning's daily routine that had somehow resulted in Rito injuring himself.

It was true that Rito got into a lot of accidents, but he had never gotten an injury requiring more than a bandage on his face. Plus, he never, ever hurt himself, it was always someone else reacting so some stupid thing he did, and there was no evidence of anyone else being in the bathroom at the time he was, so she couldn't pin it on him walking on on someone.

What had triggered it? Was Momo blaming her for choking him out that morning? She really hadn't done anything different than usual, she didn't even need to convince herself she wasn't the problem when it objectively couldn't be her.

Momo had been in the room at the time, if she recalled, and she had complained about a bruise that had formed on her forehead from something happening, so maybe she was at fault. She certainly could even get on the beast's nerves at times, it was Momo's specialty to annoy anyone and everyone she wanted to.

But, that didn't sit right with the flat-chested princess, who hummed to herself as she rested her head on her knee, looking out over the field. Momo truly did care about the boy, and she was too invested in getting him to attack her first to actually attempt something too far on her own. If she was the one at fault, then it was something very out of character for her.

Lala and Mikan were both out of the running as well, both had been doing their own things at the time, and Celine was still asleep when it all went down. A quick mental checklist of the other various visitors of the household also brought nothing up, at least with her lack of information and simply not being all that quick-thinking to begin with.

So, the only conclusion she could think of was that it was Rito himself who was at the core of the event. Whatever had caused him to punch the wall had been his own doing, a result of something going on inside his head. Nobody else was to blame.

She sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "What is that beast thinking?" she asked herself, letting the cool breeze flow over her and calm down her nerves.

Now that she thought about it, she knew next to nothing about Rito, even after approaching a year of living on Earth. She knew he was a beast, kind, perverted, relaxed, but all of those he displayed readily, to anyone observing. Everyone had secrets, and in her experience, the most passive people also tend to hide the most. The battle with Darkness had proven without doubt to her that he did in fact have more internal complexity than she'd given him credit for.

She shuddered at the thought that he'd been channeling the Principal's tactics at that time, but in hindsight, it was a perfect strategy given what they knew of Darkness' motivations, and in her apologies, Yami had confirmed that there was little chance of their victory if they attempted any other plan, so it seemed that Rito really did understand the situation better than she assumed.

He wasn't an idiot, she knew that already, but until then, he'd never given so much as a hint that he really recognized the situation he'd been in since Lala first came to Earth. It was a shock for sure, since before then, she'd always assumed he legitimately didn't have the capacity to understand his own actions.

Now, however, that realization was coming back to bite her as she realized how much she was worrying about him. Never before had she given a second thought to any passing ideas she had towards the beast, but now, she was sitting alone and brooding to herself over possible reasons behind his recent actions. Had the others noticed too? She couldn't imagine what might happen to Lala if she was aware something was wrong, her elder sister loved him even more than Momo did, after all.

...Why did she care so much? The only reason they lived with him was because Lala did, after all, and she would move in a heartbeat if she could.

But, she obviously could, quite easily. An apartment wasn't hard to get for an alien of her status, and Momo surely would love it if she wasn't around to constantly stop her in her tracks. Come to think of it, she tended to be in the way of everyone...Momo's advances, Mikan's housework, Rito's ability to breathe, she never seemed to actually be helping anyone. Some princess she was.

She grunted as she planted a hand on the ground to push herself up, standing on the grass as she looked around one last time, before taking out her D-Dial to tap on the buttons. It wouldn't do a lot of good to sit around here when she wasn't needed, and now, she was in the mood to do something helpful. Maybe she'd apologize to him, just in case she was at fault.

No, she doubted that would do anything. Knowing him, he'd blow her off and move on to something else like he did with anything. There was no room for a sincere apology when he assumed everyone was just lying to make him feel better.

She hated that line of thought, and mentally kicked herself as she hit the D-Dial's button to leave the world within, returning to her room with the small breeze of her body materializing. Rito wasn't the type of person to seek out people's opinions, he was more focused on making everyone happy than on his own self-interest...even if he was a beast.

She frowned as she sat on her bed, letting herself fall to her side on the sheets, staring at her wall. Maybe, it was about time she learned a lesson from his honesty. She needed to stop lying to herself and finally get her thoughts sorted out on exactly what she thought of him.

She'd known since they initially met that her interest in him was conflicting, but until now, she'd been letting the confusion remain, focusing instead on other things to ignore the situation, but now, if he was going to be changing for one reason or another, it was about time she turn over a new leaf too. No more pointless violence, next time he did something stupid, she'd even do her best not to punch him!

~~~Elsewhere~~~

" **Sorry to make you do this for me."** the cat said, sitting on Mea's shoulder as the other held up the broken form of her former master, slowly walking down the street towards a better spot to launch into the air from.

Mea shook her head, smiling as she turned to look at the darkskinned loli, whose eyes were closed as she put what little weight she had onto her friend. "Just focus on staying together, you don't need to fall apart before we get to Sainan. It's getting dark, so if any pieces of you get lost, I won't be able to find them until morning."

" **Curse my dark matter body."** Nemesis joked, her body breathing raggedly as she concentrated on making the cat speak. " **I can't even feel your warmth."**

"You can't feel anything, Neme-chan. You don't have any nerves." Mea replied, grinning. "You don't have to do much to begin with, just focus on settling down when you Trans-Fuse with Rito. I don't think he can handle your full force immediately either."

" **Thank you for coming back for me, Mea. Now I owe you even more."**

"Free of charge, I don't take commissions anymore!" she replied, laughing as she looked up at the sky. "It's about time I officially break off the assassin business too. I'd rather stay here, it's fun being a normal person!"

A chuckle from the cat. " **I like the sound of that. I think I'll let you be the leader from now on"**


	16. Consideration

**Starting with this chapter, I have begun backlogging for the major update on June 26th! I'll be posting somewhat regularly until then, and then the rest that's been written will be released all at once on that day. However, I also have an option to read them as they are written like I normally do, as they will be posted on a special channel on the discord server (CBpcmAV). Keep in mind the server has a few spoilers and relatively frequent discussions, and please don't put future events into your reviews as courtesy for other readers!**

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"Rito!" called Mikan's voice as the girl stood at the base of the stairs, calling up to the boy as he tapped the floor with his foot to show he had heard her. "Get down here, it's dinnertime!"

The boy sighed, dropping his pencil and leaning back in his chair to stretch his arms behind him as he had when he finished his homework, now with the completed job application in front of him. It had been quicker and easier to finish than he'd expected, given that he was a high school junior with no work experience beforehand, but given the simplicity of the questions, it didn't seem to be a difficult job to get into.

Now, he stood up, pushing the chair under his desk and nodding to himself before turning to head out of his room. "Coming!" he shouted back, stopping in front of the door to open it slowly, just to check that nobody was outside and ready to fall down before stepping into the hallway. He wasn't going to have a repeat of that morning.

He yawned as he headed down the stairs, waving to his sister as, acknowledging his presence, she headed back to the kitchen to set up the plates.

It was a full house, as it always was. The core group, with Lala and Nana on the couch and Momo at the bar keeping Celine from jumping out of her high chair, and next to her were Mikan's friends, cooing over the little child as Mikan pointed him to the actual dining room table when he walked in, which was rarely used when guests weren't over.

He nodded as she turned back to getting their food on the plates stacked next to her, and went around the group at the bar to Celine, Momo moving aside to let him pat the girl's head, a happy "Mau!" his reward for showing her attention as he laughed.

"You're getting bigger, soon you'll have to sit at the table like everyone else." he said, laughing at the child's happy bubbling noises in response, before he blinked, turning his head to find Momo and the two elementary schoolers in the exact same position, smiling knowingly at him with their elbows propped on the bar and cheeks rested in hand.

"Ara, I didn't know Siscon-senpai had a child!" Mami said excitedly. "Mikan-chan, is she yours?"

A jolt from the sister as she had to regain her balance after slamming her hip into the knob of one of the cabinets, spinning the plate in her hand to catch the food on it before it could fall as her eyebrow twitched, an annoyed expression on her face as she grabbed another plate to set the two down in front of her friends. "I've already told you two about Celine, don't start making jokes about her."

"Well, yeah, you told us, but seeing her in the flesh is different!" Sachie stated, laughing as Rito awkwardly slinked away to his seat at the table.

Momo grinned, turning to face the two. "She was mine originally, and she was way scarier when she was still a sunflower!" she stated, waving her finger as Celine laughed, waving her hands and fluttering the petals on her head as she knew she was being praised. "All Plantans are pretty big, but her species are well known for being carnivores. Although, she's pretty much human now, whatever made her transform also changed her biology around."

As the trio talked about the child's history, Rito felt someone else staring at the back of his head, and as he turned around, he noticed Nana quickly turning away, though other than blinking in confusion, he didn't mention anything as Mikan appeared next to him to hand him a plate, along with setting another one, wrapped up to preserve it, at the far chair.

"Yami said she wasn't coming over." he confirmed, and she nodded.

"Yeah, but she'll regret it and show up when we're all asleep, so might as well make some for her too." She headed back to finish handing out plates before sitting next to him with her own, pulling her chopsticks apart. "Itadakimasu. I did have something to ask about that, actually."

Now, the groups talked amongst themselves as they ate, meaning the two siblings could talk together without being bothered. "She isn't going to come by any time soon, you know. I'm not that dense, I could tell she's still really uncomfortable with talking to you again. You know she thinks too highly of you to be willing to risk losing your friendship."

The girl shook her head, sighing as she swallowed the bite she had been eating while listening to his response. "I know that, and I'm sure I'd do the same if I were in her situation. But actually, it's more about you two, and that stupid 'Harem Plan' that Momo's been trying to push."

He blinked, before groaning, shaking his head in frustration. "That again...I was hoping I'd never have to hear about it again, least of all from you."

"I know, it's especially weird that she includes me in the list, but I've been thinking about it, and from the perspective of someone who's lived around you her whole life, I don't think it's impossible for you to handle."

She raised her hand to stop him from responding, glaring at him. "Let me finish. I'm not saying to chase every girl you meet. But, you should focus on the people close to you. Momo thinks you're supporting it because you've never rejected the idea outright, but you're in a very good position to make a difference in people's lives, even if you're not after them that way."

"..." He looked down at his plate, frowning. "I don't want to talk about that. I'm already confused enough, I don't want to drag people I'm close to down with me."

"Yet, two years ago you thought all you wanted was to get a girlfriend and move on with life." she stated. "You're not as opposed as you claim to be, so you-"

"What does this have to do with Yami?" he asked, cutting her off as under the table, his injured hand clenched, though his face didn't change.

She sighed, shaking her head to lean over and take another bite. "Yami-san's the perfect example of what I mean. You've done nothing but be nice to her, and it's completely turned her life around. Plus, after the Darkness thing, it kind of confirms-"

"What she feels about me and what she says is her decision to make." he responded. "If she says nothing, then we can't assume anything. The whole reason Darkness happened is because she's still not learned to say the things she's thinking."

"So you're going to pretend nothing's changed, just so that she doesn't have to say anything? You and she both know that there's something different between you, you're not as ignorant as you let on."

"Yami's not in a position right now to talk about anything like that." he replied, now looking down at his plate rather than at her, though he maintained Outer Rito's default expression. "And, she's built up an image while she's been here, so suddenly changing anything this far in, and right after Darkness came out...that would collapse any semblance of peace she has."

Mikan stared at him, before sighing. "Even now, you'd rather protect her from afar than let her get closer, even though you've already been balancing her with everyone else close to you from the beginning. Honestly, I can't tell if you're being kind, or being a coward."

"I'm done eating." he said, standing up and taking his empty plate to the kitchen sink as Mikan watched him go, sighing as she returned to her own food.

"Rito-san!" Momo called as he got close to her, a necessary act to reach the sink, and he blinked, turning to her.

"Yeah, Momo?" he asked, blinking as she pointed to Celine, who had at some point stolen one of the other alien's chopsticks and was now sucking on the wood.

"She's not listening to me as much anymore, how do you get her to let go of things?" the girl asked, while the two humans had their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter.

Rito blinked, before his smile widened, now focused on the most adorable member of the family as he turned to Celine, who stared at him, eyes wide and mouth in a grin.

He held his hand out to her as the three watched closely. "Celine, give it back. That's made of wood, you know? It's your relatives."

A few seconds, and her mouth opened to pull it out and hold it up, seemingly to give it back...before she gave a happy "Mau!" and proceeded to throw it across the room, a surprisingly strong toss for such a small arm, and he sweatdropped, sighing as he placed his hand on her head.

"...Technically, you did give it back, so good job…" he stated, before turning to Momo. "Sorry, I'll go get another one."

"Thanks, Rito-san…" she said, before grinning. "You're so dependable!"

The remainder of dinner consisted of more minor chatting, nothing he bothered to stay for, so he simply headed up to his room, sighing as he sank into his seat, the job application still sitting there as he had left it.

"Yami, huh?" he asked himself, feeling his smile drop as Inner Rito took over once again, his hand moving to cover his face as he stared at the ceiling.

He wasn't fully against the idea of accepting Yami's feelings. Of course, he was fully aware how she actually felt about him, but there was simply too much going on to give a reply, and Mikan was right, he wasn't brave enough to hear her out yet. He still hadn't decided what to do between Lala and Haruna-chan, much less adding more into the mix.

Still, he disagreed with Mikan's assessment that he could handle things. He couldn't be in two places at once, dealing with so many people normally was draining, so attempting a relationship? That was just not going to happen. He'd need to have a second person to help with that, and what were the chances of that happening aside from Lala's insane inventions?


	17. Host

Exactly as predicted, Yami appeared, walking into the Yuuki household through the back door, permanently unlocked as the residents knew she would show up.

She blinked at the sight in front of her, two girls she didn't recognize that had apparently been trying to stay up, possibly to get a glimpse at her, but had eventually succumbed to sleep, piled on top of each other on the couch. It didn't surprise her much, there tended to be random girls around this house anyway, so she simply ignored them after satisfying her initial curiosity, moving on to the kitchen, where she blinked as she found the wrapped plate still sitting on the table, alongside a bowl of taiyaki.

She stood at the entrance to the kitchen, staring at the bowl of taiyaki next to the wrapped dinner before frowning, lifting her hand from her pocket to draw out the one given to her by Rito when they had spoken earlier that day.

She didn't know why, but she hadn't eaten it yet, and by now, it was warm and slightly crumbly thanks to her body heat, the plastic wrap doing little to defend the pastry from temperature. Fitting, considering the person who had given it to her was equally prone to soaking in everything he took.

She sighed to herself, sitting down at the table and setting the wrapped taiyaki next to her while she unwrapped the plate, starting to eat as she stared forward with glazed eyes, having nothing in particular to do while on her own in the middle of the night.

As she ate, she could imagine what had gone on during dinnertime. Everyone chattering loudly, too much for her sensitive ears, and at least one person trying to convince her to do some trick or another with her Trance. Sometimes, she'd oblige them, if only to stop them from asking her. No one ever got used to her ability, no matter how often they saw it in action, and while she didn't like showing off, she also didn't really have reason to reject their questions.

She knew the purpose after all. It wasn't just curiosity, they were sincerely trying to include her as a part of the group. After all this time, she still found it very difficult to get along with anyone but Mikan, but that didn't mean she couldn't recognize that she wasn't as different as she had originally believed.

There were so many unique people here now. Aliens, ghosts, even Haruna's strange dog. Her Trance was all but average compared to the likes of Lala's inventions, so of course they would treat it as being just a quirk of her biology, rather than the synthetic weapon she actually was.

However, there was one person who never asked her about her power. The one who knew it best, and the only person able to consistently dodge her strikes with only minor injury. Rito was too familiar with her now, he could predict her every movement, whether he realized it or not. Admittedly, she never seriously attacked him anymore, but still, for someone like him to so accurately understand her patterns...He was no normal person.

She wasn't entirely sure when she'd realized how remarkable Rito was. Certainly before she had learned to trust him, and she had been one of the first to realize he was anything but normal. Call it assassin's instinct or woman's intuition, but whatever it may be, it felt like she'd realized she'd be tied to him from the very beginning, back when she had first met him and doubted the legitimacy of the conditions within the contract placed on his head.

That contract had been voided immediately upon confirming that Lacospo had lied about Rito's personality, but for some reason, she had continued with the lie, and now, she was too deep into it to just push it aside and restart. Even now, when they both were very aware of her feelings towards him, she was unable to say anything. Just as she had built up enough courage after spilling everything during the Darkness Incident, he had finally decided to grow up just in time for her attempt to clear her name.

She blinked as she held her arm to steady her hand, which was trembling and making it difficult to hold her chopsticks. What was wrong with her? Why was it that every time she thought of him, she lost the ability to keep her cool?

Darkness really had changed everything. That other aspect of her who subverted everything she showed to other people had driven a wedge into her heart, and her self-imposed isolation from Mikan meant that now, she had become ever more dependent on Rito again, just like when she'd first begun living on this planet and needed his help to learn how to act human.

Accepting that kindness had backfired on her. She had become too human now, trapped in the web of emotional confusion that a normal person of her physical age tended to enter. She was hardly the same person she was a year ago, much less before she'd come to Earth.

Did she regret taking on that contract? She'd had the option to reject, there were plenty of other assassins and it wasn't particularly well-paying despite the perceived danger. She could have simply told that frog-like Gaaman that she wasn't interested and moved on to a more interesting assignment, but instead, something had drawn her here even then. Perhaps it was simple curiosity at how such a plain-looking person could be accused of the crimes Rito was, or maybe she had some level of desire to protect a potentially innocent person from a different assassin who may be less forgiving. In any case, she had made her decision then, and that had been the moment she'd been forced to accept this new peaceful life.

She couldn't imagine what she'd be doing right now if she hadn't decided to accept. She didn't want to. As much as Rito told her she could bury her emotions, she didn't have the experience to do so.

A knock on the front door caught her attention, and she stood up, walking over as she pushed her thoughts aside, her instincts going on alert. It was nearly 3 am, nobody normally would show up now, so it couldn't be anything good.

She opened the door, and her body stiffened in surprise at the sight of Mea, laughing hesitantly as she shifted to keep hold of the very injured Nemesis, still recognizable in the low light from her unique appearance.

"Heh, didn't think I'd see you here, Yami-oneechan." the second-generation Trans said, stepping forward to stop Nemesis from slipping off her shoulder. "Mind if we come in?"

Yami's eyes narrowed, standing at the door and blocking their path as she debated what to do. "Why is she still alive? I thought she was killed a month ago."

" **I know we don't get along, but isn't that a little rude?"** came a voice from behind her, and she jumped, turning her head and narrowing her eyes at the cat sitting on the foyer floor, tail swishing on the ground as it looked up at her.

"So, you're conscious?" she asked, frowning. "Why are you here?" Despite her hesitation, she did move aside, letting Mea walk in and head to the living room attached to the kitchen, laying the injured Trans down on the couch, where she lay still. She was even worse off than she'd been when she started the journey here, one arm almost totally coming apart now as the hole on her head had begun encroaching on one of her eyes.

"You told me to help you, didn't you?" Mea asked, to which Yami raised an eyebrow. "At school. You were pretty clear in telling me I should do what I could to bring Rito back to normal."

"And bringing Nemesis into this house is because…"

" **She wants me to see what's going on from the inside."** Nemesis' cat replied. " **With my Trans-Fusion ability."**

"...You expect me to just allow you to control Yuuki Rito's body like that?" she asked, and Mea shook her head, waving her hands defensively.

"No, no, no! That's not what Neme-chan is going to do! She's like this because she can't heal without a host, and Rito-senpai…" Her sheepish smile dropped as she stood straight, looking her predecessor in the eye. "I Dived into him, and I don't think either of us have the capability to repair what I saw. I can't tell if he's acting or just not aware of it himself, but there's a darkness in him just as big as what used to be in you and me. His mind is collapsing, and Neme-chan's the only person who can dig deep enough to do anything. If you want him to return to normal, then the only way is to let her do her work."


	18. Trans-Fusion

_Shadows curled around the house like the tendrils of Yami's hair, though unlike the Trans' blades, no light could reflect off these, and they seemed to sap away the light from their surroundings, plunging the room into darkness even though the sun still shone through the open window. However, despite this dimness, Rito still found himself able to see perfectly well, sitting at his desk with pencil in hand as he scribbled on his job application._

 _He had to keep erasing and rewriting, nothing he wrote seemed to make any sense. Sometimes it was gibberish, sometimes he didn't quite like how the kanji looked, sometimes the pencil didn't lay any graphite down at all. It was frustrating trying to get past even writing his own name._

 _What was his name again? How many syllables? Was it written in kanji or katakana? "Ri-to-sa-n…"_

 _Why did the back of his head itch so much? He kept scratching but it didn't go away. Where were the walls? His bed was gone, and so was the door. The same voice. "Rito-san…"_

 _His pencil was gone now too, but at least the graphite was working again. It came from his fingernail now, perfectly legible while he awkwardly flicked his finger over the page. He wasn't even touching the paper, the ink just flowed from his pen in swirls around his head._

 _The desk was gone, and he smiled stupidly, waving as it faded away. "Bye-bye, desk-chan…" he hummed to himself, standing up as his left foot sunk to the floor. He looked down, blinking a few times as he chuckled to himself. "Why not the right? It's lonely now…"_

 _The shadows struck at him, but the blades all missed, slipping past his body and embedding in the wall behind him. "You can't hit me, Yami-chan…"_

" _Ri-to-san…" He looked up, blinking as Momo stood over him, towering above the tiny boy. It wasn't the first time he had shrunken down, but it hurt his neck to look up._

 _She was naked, of course. Everything was on full display, dominating his field of view as he stared forward, before he blinked, his smile dropping as his eyes widened._

 _The murk inside his head vanished as quickly as it came, and his mouth twisted open as he attempted to turn, stepping forward in an effort to avoid the hand reaching to grab him, but the tendrils kept him down, dragging him to the ground and stopping him from avoiding Momo's grip as she lifted him up, leaving him to claw at the air as he was raised higher up. "No! Momo, stop! I don't-"_

 _His voice caught in his throat as he was lifted by the back of his shirt to dangle in front of her eye, the girl grinning as she laughed, a powerful vibration caused by the motion shaking him where he hung. The side of her face caved in, squishing like a doll that had been stepped on. "Rito-san, that kick hurt, you know? I just wanted to take care of you..." He fell through his clothes, sniffling and giving a distressed bark as he collapsed onto her chest, passing through like molasses as he found himself sinking into a pool, staring up as Darkness stood above, her crazed laughter muffled by the water as she tore through another him, held up in the air by those same tendrils. "This is the ecchi I wanted!" she shouted, laughing as she threw that him to the side, turning to kneel down, pushing her face under the surface to get a good look at him as he lay suspended in the water. "There's nothing lewder than you becoming part of me, isn't there? Come on, let me in…"_

 _She reached into the water, and he fell through, landing hard on the ground and gasping as he stared into the blinding sunlight, unable to look away. He didn't want to turn his head, he knew what he'd see. Little Mikan, little Kotegawa, he couldn't beat the bullies back for long. There was smoke, what had happened? Were they okay?_

 _They were crying, so they must be fine. They pushed his body, calling for him to breathe as the sun dimmed, letting him open his eyes again._

 _He leaned back on the railing of the school roof, staring unblinkingly as he listened to Yuusaki Riko complain about Saruyama chasing after her again. "Kind of cruel to make fun of him when he's right here, isn't it?" he asked, pointing behind him as his best friend waved from the other side of the railing, balanced on the edge of the rooftop as he laughed._

" _We're all together." the boy said, grinning as Rito stood up, standing next to him now as one foot hovered over the edge. "If I go, you do too. Though, you'll be fine, won't you? Look down there."_

 _A sea of breasts, waving on the ground like grass in the wind. He could recognize every one, and the fact there were duplicates really annoyed him. Everyone was unique, if there were copies, then that was just insulting to them._

 _The duplicates vanished, replaced with Haruna-chan's arms reaching up to grab him as he fell, before he was plucked out of the air by Run, standing atop Mea like a surfboard as she glided through the air._

" _You're not boring anymore." Mea said, flying straight towards the giant Celine, the sunflower growing out from the barren wasteland below as Run melted away, leaving him to hold onto the Trans' leg. "Lick me, Rito-senpai!"_

 _She tilted her wings to come to a stop in the air, sending him flying into the flower as it opened up to swallow him._

" _ **I've seen enough."**_ _came a voice, echoing in the emptiness as his body vanished, replaced with nothingness as he found himself looking at Nemesis, dressed in her usual yukata as she sat down, her legs crossed and a cheek resting on her fist as she gazed in his direction, an unreadable expression on her face._ " _ **So, this is what I'm dealing with. I know Mea told me to be careful, but I didn't think you'd be this difficult to understand. No wonder she was scared off."**_

" _What's next?" Rito asked as he slowly orbited around the girl, though no matter his location, she always maintained her gaze._

 _She sighed, shaking her head as she sat up, arranging the flowing parts of her yukata to sit comfortably._ " _ **Nothing. I'm not a part of this dream, I'm the real deal. I let you dream normally until now because I needed to figure out what I was going to be working with. Your imagination is pretty intense, Mea's mind is nothing compared to the mess I just had to sort through."**_

" _Nemesis...So, you're in my head now? Is this Body Jacking?" All of a sudden, he was lucid, though he still couldn't control his movements as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance._

" _ **Stop moving, it's hard to focus."**_ _With that, he fell still, floating in one place as she locked eyes with him._ " _ **This isn't a Body Jack. Do you know what my Trans-Fusion is?"**_

" _Isn't it what you were doing with Mea?" He tried to think back to the Darkness Incident, but found himself unable to see anything but a fuzzy slideshow of random images, and she sighed against she waved her hand, the pictures fading away and bringing him back to viewing her._

" _ **It involves me merging my core to a host. I become a part of them, and they a part of me. But, to do so, I need to be allowed access to everything you are. Will you let me have that?"**_

" _Why? Aren't you merged to Mea? Why move on to me?" He wasn't an idiot, he knew what she was referring to. She wasn't just suggesting that she be allowed to live inside him. She was implying that they would physically become the same person, that she could modify his body as she liked, while he couldn't do the opposite._

 _Her eyebrow raised again, this time in curiosity rather than annoyance._ " _ **Hmm? I would have expected your first question to be why you should trust me. There's still so much I wasn't able to see in you in just that short time. To answer your questions, no, I am not Trans-Fused to Mea anymore. I have freed her of my grasp, she is allowed to do as she wishes now. I'm not interested in destroying this world anymore."**_ _She smiled, a more genuine one than her usual smirk._ " _ **Of course, you can't truly trust me, but just take my word for it here. You interest me. You were already unusual when I first started tracking you, but for someone to be capable of rejecting Mea's Psycho Dive and hide this much away from her, even when you yourself don't understand it...Your will is far stronger than anyone else I've ever met. Not a single soul in this universe has had the ability to keep me out to this extent before. It makes me want to find out just what it's like to be the one getting commanded. So, why don't we make a deal with each other?"**_

" _What do you want?" What could she get that he could give? His durability and reflexes were the only supernatural abilities he had, and she possessed both of those already.._

 _She shrugged, and he found himself moving closer to her, uncomfortably staring inches from her face._ " _ **I want to do something good for once. I was torn to pieces before because I underestimated what I was up against. You know how I am, I want to control everything, and you're the only thing I can't. I have no power over this 'darkness' within you, so rather than trying to dominate you, why don't I instead work on turning some lights back on?"**_

 _He hummed as he thought over what she said, and when he tried to think about the others he was close to, he found himself unable to get past the blurry reel of film before it was washed away again._ " _ **This has nothing to do with them. My first assignment for you, think for yourself. Make a decision based on what you think is best for you. The others can come after. I want to hear what that inner version of you has to say."**_

 _Without being allowed to judge based on others, the answer came easily to him, as if he had made his mind up from the very beginning. "Take care of me."_


	19. Dreams

Yami was sitting at Rito's desk, having brought up the dinner left out for her to finish it while she watched him sleeping, a neutral expression on her face as she carefully observed him for any sign of Nemesis' foul play, but surprisingly, all had been peaceful as far as she could tell.

She hadn't allowed Mea inside the room, the other Trans humming to herself on the other side of the door, but even without the ability to read minds, the first Trans could tell that Rito's sleep was unusually peaceful. In fact, it was even more stable than his normal rest. She had experienced the sleeping carnivore before, and perhaps it was because no one was actually in the bed with him, but he lay still on his back, openmouthed but silent as he drooled onto his pillow.

What was Nemesis doing? Yami had come in before while the boy was sleeping, and while she always kept her distance, he usually did roll around like a normal person. She was aware that even she, who had been trained to make no unnecessary movements, would often wake up entangled in her own bedsheets, so for such a dead stillness in a person she knew as being constantly on the move...It was almost creepy, like the sleep of death. Were it not for the rise and fall of his chest, she'd have actually thought he had succumbed to whatever it was Mea had seen in him.

"It's not fatal." came the voice of the second-generation Trans, muffled through the door, and Yami's eyebrow twitched as she frowned, a blade rising to randomly slash at the air between her and the door, earning her a laugh from the girl. "You should know better than anyone that you can't cut Trance hair."

"Stop reading my mind." the elder sister grumbled, annoyed at how she hadn't even noticed the lone strand of hair that had attached itself somewhere on her body, invisible to even her sharp eyes. "Just observe Yuuki Rito."

A giggle as the girl tapped on the door with her knuckles, the distance from the ground telling the blonde that she was sitting on the floor, leaning on the door awaiting it to be opened. "I'm reading both of you right now, Yami-oneechan. You don't need to worry so much, Neme-chan is doing what she said she would. I can't read Rito-senpai's dreams while she's in command, but she's been telling me what's happening."

"And, what is happening? He looks stable to me, is there anything at all?"

"Of course! He's already started talking to her, actually. It seems like he intimidated her...It makes sense, I'm the only other person she's ever done this with, and that was back when I was a little child. I didn't even really have my own thoughts at the time, much less any sort of relationships to sort through."

"So, Nemesis has found something she isn't a master at?" the girl asked curiously. "That means she isn't as impenetrable as she seems."

"Well, Neme-chan has her own weaknesses too, you know? It's just that they aren't usually important. She's not a god or anything, she's told me many times to think of her as a master or acquaintance and that deifying anyone is a bad idea. She's even-"

The girl went silent, and Yami raised an eyebrow, turning to the door, though she couldn't see Mea through the wood. "What happened?" Her eyes narrowed, and she stood up, her hair starting to transform before Mea laughed quietly.

"No, it's nothing bad. No need to get worked up about it. They finished talking."

Slowly, Yami's hair went back to normal, and she released a fist she didn't realize she'd been clenching. "Then, that means it's over?" she asked. "What-"

She jolted as Rito's bed shook, and she whirled around to see that he had curled up, caught in the blanket as he went still again, and Mea's laugh was louder now. "He accepted. Don't worry, he's not going to freak out and start spasming or anything. The actual initial Trans-Fusion is really fast, it only took a second or two for Neme-chan to form a new core."

Yami blinked, confused by the explanation, before walking up the the bed, staring down at the boy with narrowed eyes. "Nemesis. What are you planning on doing now?" she asked, and when there was no response from the bed, she frowned. "I know you can hear me, you-"

"She can't hear you." Mea interjected. "Placing her nucleus is quick, but the full fusion takes a long time. She and Rito will both be in a catatonic state for the next few hours. I don't think it'll be a problem for him waking up at normal time, but she did ask me to have you watch them for the rest of the night."

"Me? Aren't you the one who can actually monitor them?" Yami asked, and the door opened, the girl scratching the back of her head as she smiled sheepishly.

"That's partly why she didn't want me here. She's probably embarrassed that I can look into the process we went through, but in third person this time. Her using Trans-Fusion is like you going Darkness all alone with Rito, basically."

Yami turned to face her, crossing her arms as her neutral expression returned. "Do you have any similar problem?" she asked, and Mea's smile widened to a grin.

"Nope! I still barely understand humanity, so everything's really new to me. Besides, I don't have any more secrets to keep and I'm perfectly happy with being a pervert, so what is there to be ashamed of? Shame is something for natural-born people to have, not us test tube creations!"

"I wasn't created that way." Yami stated, her deadpan expression coupled with her once again standing in a stony pose, unchanging as she looked between the two. "I was born by traditional cloning technology."

Mea's hand waved in front of her. "Semantics. You're the only one of us who was actually born, but you were made in a lab. Though, maybe you're right. Playing human is pretty nice too…"

She sighed, before turning around to head back into the hallway, before stopping with a hand on the doorjamb, her smile fading. "Just remember, no matter what we do, none of us will ever be like them. We just aren't like any race, there's no way for us to become a true part of this world."

"Mea." Yami stated, and was about to continue when the girl waved, a hollow laugh coming from her mouth as she turned to face away.

"Sorry, I know saying something like that isn't like me. I guess I haven't shaken off my old life like you did. See you later, Yami-oneechan."

With that, she disappeared down the stairs, careful to open and close the front door quietly enough not to wake anyone, especially not the two girls passed out on the couch.

With her gone, Yami was alone again, and she sat down, closing her eyes to let her heartbeat slow back to normal. Mea didn't need to ask, she wasn't going to leave Rito alone with Nemesis until she was absolutely sure he wasn't being hurt in some way.

He had saved her multiple times now, so even if he wasn't willing to hear her out, she still owed him a lot. A few hours of guard duty was nothing compared to him snapping her out of Darkness or offering taiyaki to her right after an attempt to kill him. It was only the tip of the ever-growing iceberg that she needed to melt down.

She didn't even mind the slight risk that she'd run into Mikan. Her hesitation towards seeing her best friend again was overshadowed by the understanding that something was seriously wrong with Rito, and her desire to protect him far outclassed her embarrassment. Perhaps she'd slip back into another halfhearted assassination attempt when he woke up and found her in his room, but until then, it was peaceful like this, sitting still and watching the person she cared most about resting. She may be a former assassin, but this was one target whose life she wanted to defend.


	20. Sleepy

**So, this will be the last update before the mass update happens! There won't be as many chapters as I had hoped to get out, around 6-10, but hopefully it'll male up for it in what is actually written!**

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Rito yawned as his eyes opened, vision swimming as he got used to the morning light shining through the window, and he blinked as he sat up, looking down at himself in confusion.

He wasn't tired at all. Normally, he'd be woken by some dream and then have the typical half hour or so of wandering around half-awake, but he hadn't dreamt and woke up immediately, with no effort whatsoever. It was an odd feeling to hear his alarm going off after he was already sitting up to get out of bed, rather than having to drag himself out after oversleeping or coming face to face with Momo or Lala.

He groaned, raising a hand to his forehead. He had a slight fever, but as he stood up, the pressure vanished, leaving him simply confused as to what had happened the night before.

He had a feeling he'd dreamt something, but it had ended and faded from his memory by now, leaving only a twinge of confusion, like he was missing something important.

He looked around the room, and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight in front of him. The chair under his desk had fallen to the side, and the cause was easy to see as a sleeping Yami was sprawled over the floor, face pressed into the carpet and body contorted in the odd postures of morning sleep. What was she doing in here?

He squatted next to her, observing the sight in confusion as he tried to recall what had happened the night before. She was never here in the morning, and he was sure nothing unusual had happened. He was much more careful now, after all, so there was no way he'd tripped on her or accidentally grabbed that magnetic device again like had happened a couple times before. Why was she still here?

He reached forward to poke the side of her head with a finger, pulling his hand back as a small blade formed out of her hair, but it returned to normal quickly as she groaned, shifting to flop onto her back and turning her head to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"Yami, you should wake up." he said, and the girl mumbled something as he smiled, tapping her again and causing her to wave his finger away with a hand in sleepy irritation. "Mikan's probably up already, if you don't go, you might run into her."

Of course, he wanted her to reunite with his sister after a month of radio silence. They were best friends after all, and for them to be separated couldn't be good for either of the girls, but Yami was still her own person. If she still had reason to stay away, then he would only suggest that she stop, not set it up so she couldn't get away from a confrontation.

The Trans blinked, groaning as she pushed her hand to the ground to sit up, setting a hand on her mouth to yawn before turning to the boy, and he blinked, noticing the change in her expression.

She was still clearly tired, but her narrowed eyes were not from exhaustion anymore. They were the eyes of someone who knew exactly what she was looking at and was cautious about what she saw. The same person she became when she was in the midst of her usual habit of chasing him.

"Ri-" Her voice was a little softer than normal, and she shook her head as she set her hands in her lap, and when she spoke again, her voice was back to normal. "Yuuki Rito. Are you feeling alright?"

He blinked, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Er...Yes? Honestly, I slept better than I have in a long time. But, why were you-"

He was interrupted by her standing up, turning to look down at him. "If you're safe, then I don't need to be here anymore." She moved to the side, hopping up to stand on his bed and open the floor-length window next to where he slept. "Greet Mikan for me."

He laughed, standing up as well to head over to his desk and set his homework and application into his school bag. "If you're going, I had something somewhere I wanted to give-"

"The taiyaki was good." she stated, and he blinked, turning to look at her and finding himself locked in eye contact with the alien.

"What?" Something about the situation left him dumbfounded, having a hard time formulating a proper question as she gave him a small smile.

"I still need some time before I can accept anything more from you." she said, her voice softer once again, though this time, it was intentional, not a product of sleepiness clouding her brain. "I will be at school today, however. Hokkaido left a bad impression on me yesterday."

He blinked, before grinning, raising his hand to her, and she blinked, looking between the hand and his face.

"I don't really get it, but you're trying to help me with something, aren't you?" he asked, and the Trans frowned. "You don't have to say anything you don't want to, but I can assume things. I am a guy, after all."

Her hand moved towards his, hesitating in the air for a moment, before she accepted the handshake, though she couldn't look his way, and if she wasn't turned around, he had little doubt her face would be flushed red.

"I hate ecchi things." she stated, and he laughed.

"Good thing I'm not doing anything lewd then, isn't it?" he replied, letting her separate from him and create her Trance wings, holding onto the window frame before kicking off to leap out and fly away.

His smile dropped as soon as she was out of sight, and he looked at the hand he'd used, frowning as he brought it to his forehead again. "Seriously, what is happening?"

"Ri-to-sa-n!" came the familiar voice of Momo as the door to his room burst open, and he turned to find the youngest princess practically dragging a protesting Nana, who was struggling to get the pervert to let go of her tail and let her leave the room. "Ara? You're awake? Aww, we were hoping to have some fun before you got up!"

"I was not!" Nana shouted, resorting to beating her twin in the back of her head with weak punches that clearly didn't bother the girl. "Let me go! I have to take a shower!"

"Oh, that's an even better idea! Clever Nana, you didn't want to have clothes in the way of seeing Rito-san's 'beast'!"

Nana's face went tomato red as she shouted her complaints, while Rito simply laughed nervously, scratching his head. "I'm getting in last again." he stated, catching their attention. "Is Lala already out?"

"Aneue and Momo both already finished." Nana stated, frowning. "Hey, your hand-"

He cut her off by raising his injured hand, squeezing it a few times. "I'm fine, don't worry. Thanks for asking. Turns out it was an earlier injury and it just flared up at that moment. Nothing to worry about."

The girl looked skeptical, but Momo laughed, reaching to bonk the boy's forehead. "Don't scare us like that. Nana was sleeptalking about you all night!"

"N-No, I wasn't!" the flat-chested twin complained, punching Momo in the back of the head again. "And why were you in my room? Stop sneaking into people's rooms while they're sleeping, that's a creepy habit of yours!"

"Oh, come on, Nana. That's not nearly the creepiest habit I have!"


	21. Conscience

**So, today's the mass upload! Not as many chapters as I had hoped for, but I hope the content makes up for it! Here's to 9 years as an author!**

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After what happened yesterday, Mikan carefully monitored the residents of the house while they showered, ensuring that nobody would barge in, accidentally or intentionally, while someone else was inside, and, knowing the importance of preventing another strange event from happening, even Momo cooperated, staying downstairs and not bothering her twin, and when Nana finished, it was Rito's turn.

He sighed as he sank into the tub, half-lidded eyes looking up at the ceiling as he pondered the night before. He was probably overthinking things, but he couldn't help but think that things were connected somehow. His oddly easy awakening, Yami still being here in the morning, and that feeling in the back of his mind that he was forgetting something important. He'd done a mental double-check of his school supplies and job application, and he knew he hadn't been asked to do anything the day before.

His eyes wandered across the wall, landing on the cracked space where Mikan had removed the broken mirror. After a full day, his hand was fine now, though it still hurt a bit to touch the warm water with his scabbed knuckles, but he wouldn't need to bandage it again today. He was resilient, by this time tomorrow, he'd forget there was an injury there in the first place.

He let his mind wander as he sat in the water, quietly pondering his situation to himself. Everyone was acting normal now, so he doubted he needed to worry too much. They probably had forgotten about what happened by now.

 _They don't care enough to remember?_ his inner self asked, and he was about to wave it away when another thought countered it. _They know you're strong enough to handle yourself. Trust them as they trust you._

The second thought didn't feel like his own voice, and something in the back of his mind tried to click, attempting to recognize the voice. He knew he'd heard it somewhere, but the only person he could think of that was capable of doing something like that was Mea, and he knew she wasn't around. So, who could it be?

He was overthinking things. It was just his own voice, the problem was only that he wasn't used to it saying things that were positive. Usually it just insulted the people around him or accused him of letting them walk all over him.

His stomach growled, signalling that it was time to get out, so he groaned as he stood up to step out of the bath, humming to himself as he got out of the water to dry himself off.

As his eyes were covered by his towel, he thought he heard someone speaking, and called out in reply, instinctively covering himself with the towel, but as nobody responded, he blinked, confused but shrugging it off as he went to change into his school uniform.

One of Oshizu's friends, maybe. He sometimes thought he could see or hear other ghosts around, and after befriending the girl, the thought of the paranormal didn't bother him at all anymore. If anything, that was more mundane than his normal situation.

He hummed to himself as he headed out of the bathroom, heading to his room to take his school bag and set it down next to the door, ready to grab when he was leaving, before heading to the kitchen, where the other residents already were present. The twins didn't pay much attention, as usual in one of their heated arguments that had resulted in rolling on the floor, tails in each other's hands.

"Rito!" Lala called, rushing up to him as soon as he came into view, and he laughed as she wrapped him in a hug, causing him to lean back so he wouldn't lose his balance as Mikan gave a knowing smirk, holding his bowl of rice in hand. Not every day was an extravagant feast with all meals, and this was perfectly fine by the boy.

"You didn't blow anything up again, did you?" he asked the eldest princess, who frowned, before grinning again as she stepped back, raising her hands in two V-signs next to her and sticking her tongue out.

"Ehehe. No, I didn't! Actually, the opposite! I successfully completed a new invention!" She laughed, and Rito raised an eyebrow as he moved to sit at the counter, thanking his sister as he took his bowl.

"Is it something dangerous?" he asked, and she shook her head, about to pull something from her pocket before a wooden spoon smacked her in the forehead, thrown by Mikan with surprising accuracy.

Rito blinked, a sense of deja vu hitting him out of nowhere. Weird, he never had such a feeling before, but he felt like he had already seen that exact same toss. He hadn't been surprised by it, and hadn't even needed to look to know Mikan was standing, arms on her hips and glaring at the princess. "Did your friends already leave?" he asked the girl, who briefly turned to nod before looking back at the princess.

"After last night, you don't need to bring out more inventions for a while." she said, frowning. "I don't want a repeat of the last disaster, I still need to clean up the stains all over the stairs from when you dragged that other one across the house."

"Ehehe…" the girl said, before relenting, sitting down next to her fiance and humming happily as she leaned on his side, and he turned to look at her, smiling and reaching a hand to pat her head.

"Lala, you don't usually get this close." he said, ignoring Momo making a comment from the couch, where Nana had lost their duel and now lay passed out on the cushions. "Was it that exciting?"

"Hmm, it's not about the breakthrough. I just realized that we haven't been this close in a while!" she said, looking up at him as he ran his hand through her hair, avoiding Peke's hairpin as he knew very well what could happen if he accidentally touched it. The girl hummed happily at the contact, and he blinked as he found Momo breathing down his neck.

"You've gotten more open, haven't you, Rito-san?" she asked, and he turned to face her, making eye contact as she smirked. "You never are the aggressor. Are you alright?"

"Well, maybe I decided I wanted to change a bit." he stated, and the girl blinked, her smirk dropping. "I'm already trying to get a job and be more useful, I might as well be more assertive too."

The three girls blinked, simultaneously going quiet at the statement as Celine happily cooed in the background, and he stared, tilting his head in confusion.

Why had he said that? That hadn't been what he intended to say, and come to think of it, when did he actually raise his hand? He never pet Lala, so why had he suddenly done so now?

Maybe Inner Rito was starting to influence him more now that he wasn't hiding it as much. Still, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Even he had to admit that if he was more proactive, then maybe that conflict inside him would go away as well. What harm could there be in trying to change, after all? He only had one semester before his final year of high school started, so it was about time he tried out a new lifestyle.

 _But, it may backfire, and if that happens, then whatever is keeping everyone around you might go away._ He blinked, more confused than worried about the intrusive thought. If Inner Rito wasn't the one controlling him right now, then who-

 _ **I help you out, and you complain?**_ came that same voice as before, but this time, it was obviously not his own, a tone of annoyance in its statement _._ _ **This is all I can do for now. Don't screw this up, or I'll start messing with your memory too.**_

A twinge in the back of his head as he tried to remember something, but with no explanation coming from the girls around him, all he could do was deal with it for now. This person seemed to be helping, if their words could be believed. Surely it wouldn't hurt to just see how things went.

He'd take their advice, then. Backing off from the situation would be too hard anyway, so all he could do is push forward. He was going to be assertive now!


	22. Ennui

"Ara, you want to be more assertive?" Momo asked, leaning over and draping her arms around his shoulders with a smug grin. "Then I can help with-kyu! N-Nana?!" She was forced to let go of the boy as her arms instinctively curled up, hands closing as she looked back to see her sister, on the floor as she was still exhausted from her defeat but with a hand reached up, having successfully gotten hold of the base of Momo's tail.

"Get...back...here…" the flat-chested girl stated through pants, and Rito watched as a tug of her tail sent Momo tumbling to the ground. Mikan sighed, going back to what she was doing as Lala laughed at the two's roughhousing.

"You shouldn't fight, we have to go soon!" the eldest sister stated, standing up and grabbing Rito's hand to pull him with her. "Rito, I had to go all of a sudden yesterday, so can we walk together?"

He smiled, turning his attention away from the twins and nodding. "Yeah, sure. I have to go find Momioka before class anyway, so getting an early start is a good idea."

"You're really going for that job, aren't you?" Mikan asked. "Even dealing with Momioka-senpai after that thing that happened 3 weeks ago."

He flinched, and Lala let go of his arm so that he could scratch the back of his head. "Please don't remind me about that, I'd rather not think about it right now."

His sister smirked, before waving as she turned to set the dishes away. "You'll have to eventually, Mister Assertive. Have fun at school, don't get into trouble."

"R-Right…" he replied, practically dragged by Lala to the door, only allowed to stop long enough to get his shoes on and bag on his shoulder before they headed out the door, Lala humming a familiar tune as she walked.

This morning was gloomy, a thick layer of clouds blocking out the sun and casting faint shadows onto everything below. The boy hummed to himself as he looked up. "I hope Yami got through this okay."

Lala blinked, turning to him curiously. "Yami-chan? Was she here this early?" She frowned, looking up at the sky. "If she flies through this, she'll have a lot of trouble with wind...Well, she'll be fine!" Losing interest, she continued on her way, guiding Rito behind her as he smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's dealt with worse weather." Some she's even caused herself, no doubt. "I think she said she'd be at school today, nice to know that."

"Oh, she'll be there? That's good, I wanted to talk to her about something!" the girl said, grinning. "That new invention I made, it was a present for her, actually. I wanted to run it by you before giving it to her, but if Mikan says I can't, then it'll just be a surprise!"

He blinked, surprised enough by the statement. "You've never really paid her much attention before, why now?" he asked, and she hummed, walking a bit ahead of him as she lifted her chin up, closing her eyes in a happy expression.

"Just because!" With that air of finality, she stopped speaking, going back to humming to herself as she slowed her pace down to lock arms with her fiance, standing close by as he smiled.

"It's nice to see you staying close to her." he stated. "Since you fought a month ago, I bet she's still worried that you'd resent her."

The girl blinked, looking up at him in confusion. "Why would I hate her? She wasn't attacking anyone on purpose." Her confusion melted away as she grinned. "I've caused more problems for people than she has. Ehehe."

 _ **You sure have, Lala-hime.**_ the voice mused. _**And I'm curious about this supposed event relating to Momioka Risa. Knowing you, I can't imagine what must have occurred.**_

 _You'll be disappointed if you go rooting in my memories._ Inner Rito told the voice. _It's nothing as major as Mikan made it out to be._

 _ **We shall see, Yuuki Rito. We shall see.**_ With that, the voice went quiet again, and the boy blinked as he found the pair already turning into the school's entrance.

He'd completely blanked out the rest of the walk. What had happened? At some point, Lala had let go again, happily spinning in circles as she walked just in front of him and humming to herself. What had happened exactly?

The voice and his own inner thoughts stayed quiet on the matter, and he blinked as Lala turned around. "I'm going to go look for Yami-chan, I'll be in class soon!" she said, running off before he could respond as he stared in confusion at the odd behavior. First sticking close, then suddenly running off. It seemed his newfound confidence hadn't changed the oddities that everyone else had started to show.

He focused on switching his shoes out, knowing that questioning Lala too much was a one way ticket to some disaster or another happening. Bent on the ground, he jolted in surprise as a hand touched his back, and he looked up to find Ren staring down at him, a neutral expression on his face as his hand moved to wave to the boy.

"Yo, Yuuki." the Memorzian said, and Rito stood up, tapping his toes on the ground to make sure his shoes were on properly. "You're looking sharper today."

"You noticed?" the boy asked, and again without the bidding of his mind, his arm raised to point to his chest as he grinned. "I decided I'd be more proactive from now on. I took what you said to me yesterday to heart."

The pepper-haired boy hummed curiously, patting his friend's shoulder. "Good, but I can still recognize the presence of another person in you. Keep it up and you'll either merge, or start splitting like Run and me."

"Is there no way to make you satisfied?" Rito asked jokingly, and the alien smirked, shaking his head.

"Not until you prove to me you're back to normal." he replied, before chuckling and pushing Rito's shoulder, causing him to have to step back to catch his balance as the boy flexed his arm. "I'm just messing with you. Don't take everything so seriously, did you really think I had some magical ability to sense other people's inner conflicts just because I used to share a body? That's not how this works!" He laughed, turning to head into the school and waving goodbye to the boy. "You may be trying out new confidence, but you've got a while before that gullibility goes away."

"R-Right…" Rito said, confusedly setting his outdoor shoes into his locker and picking up his bag again.

 _ **He's lying.**_ the voice stated calmly, and he nodded to himself.

 _I know. I'm not as dense as I seem._ he thought back, only to receive a small laugh.

 _ **Sure you aren't. I don't think he's sensing me, though. He recognizes your actual inner conflict...I wonder if he can even recognize that same darkness that Mea did.**_

 _Mea? How do you know Mea?_ he thought, and the voice fell silent for several seconds before sighing.

 _ **You forgot about speaking with me? Well, in that case, I'll keep my mouth shut. This isn't about figuring out who I am, I'm just here to help you as a favor to her.**_


	23. Confrontation

Rito yawned as he walked down the hallway, by now ignoring the voice as it continually made comments about the world around him. It had gotten annoyingly talkative now that it had settled down, and he could barely talk to anyone without it cracking some sort of joke that caught him off guard. For once, he had to thank his reputation, or else it may have been problematic how often he had to stop himself from talking to prevent his thoughts from leaking out.

 _ **If you hate it so much, I'll stop. I'm here to help you, all I was trying to do is guess your thought process. You don't interact much with people outside your inner circle, do you?**_

 _I don't have a reason to. That's not unusual, everyone has their friend group. Plus, it's mostly because I live with Momo and Lala that people tend to stay away from me…_

 _ **Hoh? Not because you have the uncanny ability to magnetize your hand to the nearest girl's chest?**_ the voice asked, and he rolled his eyes. He was about to respond before they chuckled. _**I'm not going to control your actions very much anymore, I've still yet to fully fuse with you and it's exhausting breaking past your mental walls every time. Do as you wish from now on, I'm just here as an observer.**_

"Yuuki-kun. Yuuki-kun!" came the annoyed voice of Kotegawa, snapping him out of his thoughts as he blinked a few times. The girl's hands were on her hips, leaned forward slightly to stare at him with a frown on her face. "You've been standing there with that dopey expression for a full minute. You were late yesterday, are you going to be today as well?"

He shook his head, laughing hesitantly. "N-No, Kotegawa." he replied, shaking his head. "I just got lost in my thoughts, I was heading to class right now!"

The disciplinary president looked skeptical, but she still stood up straight, glaring at him as she started walking with him, possibly to ensure he actually got to his destination, even though at this point, he was focused on his walking again. "I told you, I'm going to be watching you more closely than usual. You've stopped assaulting random girls now, but to me, that seems like you're just planning something bigger."

Rito sweatdropped at the accusation, scratching his head as they walked. "...Are you just always going to accuse me of crimes every time you see me?" he asked, and without hesitation, she nodded. "I see…"

"Yuuki." came a voice from inside the classroom, and while he was looking at Kotegawa, he was unguarded against the rolled up assignment wielded in the small hands of Sawada Mio bumping his head, grinning as he turned to face her. "I thought I'd see you here early today." she said, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I meant to talk to you and Momioka." he stated, lifting his bag so he could dig through it. "Um, I brought the application, so-"

"Risa's not here today, but I can take it over to the cafe after school. Give it to me then."

He nodded, tilting his head. "What happened? Is she sick?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"We were up all night studying for the test on Monday, so she decided to sleep in at my place." the girl responded. "I bet she tried to get back up and keep working, but by now she's passed out on the coffee table again."

The boy blinked, laughing hesitantly. "...Isn't your coffee table glass, though?" he asked. "She's not going to hurt herself, is she?"

"Nah, I put sealant on the cracks, so it should hold up. Risa's not that heavy, you know?"

"So, Momioka is skipping class?!" Kotegawa asked, annoyed and about to go on a rant before she blinked, her expression softening in confusion. "...Wait, Yuuki-kun, you've been to Sawada Mio's house before?"

He turned to her, nodding as his hand left his bag, not needing the application right now as per Sawada's request. "Yeah, I have. She's my friend too, you know?" he asked, and Sawada laughed, facing the confused tsundere.

"We've done all kinds of things together at my house!" she said, grinning and waving her hand. "He's been in my bedroom, I've made dinner for him before, it got pretty hot when my air conditioner broke once. He's the one who caused my table to crack, you wouldn't believe how clumsy he can be in tight spaces even though he's stopped falling on people!"

"Y-Yeah, but that was weeks ago, I've gotten better now!" he defended himself, stepping to the side to start heading to his desk. "Kotegawa, you know that she's just messing with you, right?"

The disciplinary president sighed, holding her hand to her forehead and nodding. "Yes, I'm well aware how those two are. And, I know you aren't one to do anything like that, even though you're completely indecent."

He smiled, waving to her as he headed to his seat, while Sadawa laughed at the flustered expression on Kotegawa's face as she continued picking on the poor girl, though noticeably, she didn't get physical as she and Momioka did when they were together. The two really were close, when they were apart, they were very different people altogether.

Rito wasn't particularly close with Sawada, at least, certainly not compared to his odd friendship with Momioka, but he still knew her relatively well. She lived away from her parents like he did, except she didn't have siblings with her, so she usually spent her time alone. That must be why she always had Momioka over at her house or vice versa, and why she tended to cling to the girl whenever they were at school. It was slightly sad, but she'd told him before that she didn't mind her living situation, so if she was happy, then he wouldn't press too hard.

 _ **Are those things she said true?**_ the voice asked curiously. _**You didn't react at all when she talked, and I didn't see her in your dreams.**_

 _She's just a friend, and she left a lot of details out. That's just the kind of person she is, and she knows Kotegawa hates lewd conversation. Momioka's the same way._

 _ **Hmm? That sounds like you're the one leaving important details out to me. Don't tell me you didn't notice Kotegawa Yui avoiding your gaze when that girl was talking.**_

 _Kotegawa really doesn't like even seeing me most of the time, I think she was just embarrassed. Nothing more to it. She isn't like Yami, there is no underlying motives with her._

 _ **For someone so attentive, you can miss a lot of things too. I'll be paying attention while you run around pretending you know everything, then. "Mister Assertive".**_

He cringed at the use of Mikan's joking name, but kept a straight face as he sat down to prepare for class, waving at Saruyama as he called his name, before the monkey-like boy was immediately accused of some random wrongdoing by Kotegawa, already wound up from the odd conversation with Sawada.

The boy groaned as he sat down heavily in his seat next to Rito's, reaching to high five his best friend as he idly waved in Kotegawa's direction. "Seriously, what's her problem today? I even got here early just for her!"

"'Just for her'?" Rito asked, laughing. "Don't tell me you've got your eyes on Kotegawa now."

Saruyama blinked, crossing his arms and shuddering at the thought. "Absolutely not, I'm more terrified of her than anyone else. Besides, my heart only goes out to Yuusaki-chan!"

"Right, her…" Rito stated awkwardly. He had completely forgotten about Saruyama meeting him when he was in that female form before. "I still think you just made her up, I've never seen her."

"Oh, you're just mad because you're not the only one to have a girl you like notice you!"


	24. Conservation

"Seriously, man, what's your secret?" Saruyama asked, resting his cheek on his desk and looking to the side at his friend. "You avoided girls all through junior high, Sairenji was basically the only one you ever talked to, but as soon as Lala-chan showed up, everything changed for you. You kind of left us other guys in the dust, you know?"

"I keep telling you, it's not as fun as you think. I even carry bandages in my bag at all times just in case I get injured for some reason." Rito replied, leaning back in his chair and tapping his desk with his pencil, as it was early enough that Tearju-sensei had not yet gotten to class. "Are we still on for this weekend?" he asked, changing the subject as his friend grinned, sitting up with renewed energy.

"Yeah, I thought we'd start by going over to Cafe Hasurin!" the monkey said, laughing. "You know, since you'll be working there eventually, we should scout it out, right?"

Rito chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows and making eye contact with his friend. "Or you just want to see Sawada in her maid outfit again." he replied, and Saruyama's grin answered the question for him.

"Hey, it's not her! You know I don't like the twintail look!"

"Well, I don't like the hedgehog wannabe look." Sawada stated, tapping his desk with an open palm as she headed to her seat. "I'll make sure to take extra care with my hair for you guys!" She winked with a teasing smile before heading to her seat, while Kotegawa remained vigilant near the door, checking everyone who walked in and shouting at a few who had some minor rule break like an unbuttoned shirt or standing too close together.

Saruyama's smile fell as he sighed, looking over at the girl. "Kotegawa's on fire today, isn't she?" he asked. "I think you riled her up by talking to Sawada, she's probably never seen you guys outside of school."

Rito shrugged, not particularly surprised by the girl's personality by now. "It is partly my fault, it's a bit weird to suddenly be friendly with people even though I spent most of the last year and a half complaining about them."

Saruyama exhaled in an effort to stifle a laugh, but failed to stop it as he raised a hand to wipe a finger across his eyelid. "She'd freak out if she heard about that thing that happened." he said, and Rito groaned, reaching forward to smack his forehead against his desk.

"Mikan mentioned that too. Why is everyone bringing that up all of a sudden today?" he asked, and Saruyama hummed in thought.

"Well, I think Sawada's birthday just recently passed, so maybe that's why? Don't know if Mikan knows that, though. Maybe it's just because you've been a bit different recently."

Rito was about to ask what he meant, but was cut off by the boy puffing his chest out and tapping his thumb against his sternum as he grinned. "You're a lot more confident since yesterday, you know? Like, yesterday when we were doing that cooking class, you didn't stutter at all when you talked to Sairenji, and you even took the lead. Did something happen after Wednesday that made you decide to change?"

Rito's hand clenched, not nearly as painful now but still enough to remember his injury. "N-No, nothing really strange happened. Honestly, it's been a lot more peaceful recently, maybe I'm just feeling like a revival's happening, you know?"

"It is nice to see you like this." came the voice of the girl Saruyama had mentioned, hovering near their desks as she smiled. "It's like how you used to be, before the garden incident."

Rito smiled, sitting up to face Haruna and laughing nervously. It had been a while since he thought of the original reason why he'd set his sights on this girl, but now, he could remember it well. "Yeah, I guess that's a good point. Maybe I'm starting to come back out of my shell."

Saruyama laughed, reaching to pat his friend's back as he grinned. "Maybe it's just the pervert in me talking, but being known for having the perfect aim when you fall is probably a lot better than getting accused of vandalizing plants. I mean, it's worked out for you so far, right?" The boy hummed in thought, tapping his chin before speaking in a tone as if he had made a major revelation. "I guess this time though, you really are attacking flowers. Huh."

A statement that didn't make much sense, but Haruna sighed, holding a hand to her forehead as she guessed the general meaning of the poor joke. "Yuuki-kun's not like that." she stated. "I mean, everyone knows it was all accidental, and he's stopped now, right?" She looked expectantly at the subject of her reasoning, and he nodded in response.

"Yeah, you know I've started getting over my condition." he replied, tapping his temple with a finger. "I still need to have Mikado-sensei look at it, but I probably am starting to get control back in my inner ear. A little pathetic that I needed the help of Darkness to finally start getting better, but now that it's happened, I'll keep it up. You know I didn't _like_ falling on everyone I ran into."

Saruyama hummed, seemingly convinced as he changed the conversation topic again. "Speaking of Darkness, I noticed you and Yami-chan have been getting along better since that whole mess happened. Finally decided to make a move?"

Sairenji blinked, tilting her head at the statement. "I never noticed anything changed, did she confess to you? I know you wouldn't be the one to do that to her, even with your new self."

He shook his head, sighing as he lowered his head again to stare at the wood of his desk. "Saruyama, you're pretty good at misunderstanding things. Nothing's really changed, and I'd rather maintain the status quo than let anything happen either way. At least Momo's been off my back recently, that's made everything so much more relaxed."

"Stooop, you're just making me more jealous!" Saruyama said, tilting his chair to lean back and hold his hands to his head in frustration. "I'd love to live in a house with so many girls, and you've even got a kid you get to raise too! I want a family!"

A few people looked at them, confused by the loud statement, and the boy gulped in surprise as Haruna bonked his head with the side of her open hand. "Don't say things that'll cause misunderstandings. Celine is the sweetest little alien I've ever met, and she loves her papa! She doesn't have to be blood related to Yuuki-kun for it to be a family."

Rito chuckled, waving aside the comment. "Mikan does most of the work, I just play with her when I see her. Momo's the one who knows most about her, since she's a plant."

"Yes, but Momo isn't really the best person to be taking care of children, isn't she?" she replied with a deadpan tone, and he sweatdropped before nodding.

"...Right, I can't really say I'd trust her if Celine was actually human." he responded. "Even I'm not that dense to not see that."

"Don't talk down on yourself." Saruyama stated, pointing at his friend and smiling, a more natural one this time. "As long as I've known you, you've never been that inattentive, just not very confident in yourself. Remember how you used to be back in elementary school?"

"All I remember from then is that Mikan was a lot more of a crybaby and you weren't such a freak." Rito replied, and Saruyama gasped, holding his hand to his chest in faked shock.

"How mean! I've been by your side since we were little, and that's how you see me?"

 _ **Is this how you humans normally talk to each other when there's nothing important going on?**_ the voice asked, and he gave it a silent affirmative. _**I see. I'll remember that, I've still not yet learned enough about living normally. Please guide me like you have before, Yuuki Rito-sensei.**_


	25. Encounter

As Tearju-sensei gathered her supplies and brushed herself off after taking a tumble upon entering the room, the students slowly shifted from chattering with each other about their social lives to more school-oriented conversation, though given how the ex-bioengineer was, they probably had a good ten minutes before she was actually ready to start the lesson as she sighed to herself, laughing hesitantly while she adjusted her glasses and looked around the class.

To most of her students, she was just seeing if anyone had reacted to her falling down, but that was something she did so often now that nobody even batted an eye, and to Rito, who knew about her actual history, he was aware that she was actually checking attendance and observing the class for any strange events or newcomers. She was genuinely as shy and clumsy as she seemed, but she still had some degree of her old scientist mentality left in her, and he was careful to look away when her gaze passed over him.

 _ **Are you afraid of her?**_ the voice asked, curious. _**I know a little about Doctor Lunatique, but I haven't met her many times in person. She doesn't feel like a threat to me.**_

 _It's not about being a threat, Tearju-sensei is a good person. It's just, I know that if we make eye contact, she'll ask about Yami after class. She always does, and I don't know if Yami wants to be bothered by her today. I still don't even know why she was at home this morning._

 _ **...That may be one of the most boring responses you've ever given me. Honestly, you should stop worrying about other people and do what you want. I'm not here to corrupt you and turn you into some sort of villain, but I also am not about to sit aside and let someone with the willpower to resist me waste away into the background like this. Listen to me, Yuuki Rito. If you let that shell of yours stay in control, you won't end up on a good path. It's the same reason why I promised myself I would never lie about my intentions and never hold back.**_

 _Why are you always so serious? Even Inner Me isn't that bad._ he thought, sweatdropping as his attention was grabbed by Tearju-sensei tapping the blackboard.

There were a lot of things over the last couple days that he had chosen to simply forget about, but the voice's strange obsession with considering every action he took to be serious would just have to be added to the list. Maybe it was simply wrong in its assumptions, but for now, he had notes to write.

~~~After class~~~

"Hey, Rito…" Saruyama said, turning to the boy as he looked over his writing, turning to face the monkey as he groaned. "Did you understand half of that? I'm sure that wasn't even on the syllabus, was it?"

"Saruyama, most of this was review for the test, even Sawada was paying attention." He motioned to the girl, but blinked as all he saw was her completing an origami swan out of a page from her notebook. "Er...I'm sure she finished already."

"She's probably lonely since Momioka's absent." Saruyama stated idly, shrugging. "But still, I don't get it! How can you juggle girls and school, and even want to work too?! Teach me your ways, please!"

"Just don't be rude to people and you'll get what you want." Rito replied, laughing as he stood up. "I'm getting a bottled water, want anything?"

"If they've got any lemonade, I'll take that! I'll pay you back tomorrow too." the boy said, and he nodded, heading towards the door.

He blinked as he found Lala following behind him, and nodded to acknowledge her presence. "Want something too?" he asked, and she shook her head, leaning on him as they walked.

"No, I just wanted to stand close to you for a while." she replied, and he laughed, patting her head as they headed down the hallway.

"Were you even paying attention in class, or just watching me the whole time?" he asked, and she blinked, reaching the hand not wrapped around his arm to tap the side of her head.

"Ehehe, you're good at guessing what I'm doing even though you aren't looking." she replied, and he nodded.

"I've gotten good at feeling when someone is watching me." he replied. "You know, since Yami's always doing it."

They turned to head downstairs towards the vending machine on the bottom floor, and Rito jolted, pulling Lala aside as he dodged a pair of girls heading up around a corner, narrowly avoiding running into them as the surprised pair quickly made their way to their destination, allowing the two to continue on their path.

"You've gotten good at avoiding running into people too." she pointed out, and now it was his turn to laugh hesitantly.

"Yeah, though it would be better if I could stop with my habit of getting so close to walls. It makes it hard to turn in time, I really need to start using the middle of the hallway more often." he replied. "But, progress is progress. I'll take what I can get until I'm able to act like a normal person."

The girl tilted her head, smiling as she pointed ahead of them. "Then shouldn't you be watching where you're…"

He had been looking in the Devilukean's direction, and before he had time to turn his head, his body moved on its own, jerking him to the right to avoid whoever it was as he turned to face them, his eyes widening as he found Yami overcorrecting her path and shouting as she tumbled forward, sending them both falling so that he landed hard on his back on the stairs behind him.

"Ugh…" he said, groaning at the pain in his back before blinking as he came to his senses, looking forward to see what the weight on his body was, and he found Yami propping herself up with a hand on his chest, the other on her forehead as she stared at him.

"Your chest is hard." she complained, and he glanced back to see Lala squatting on the stair above him, and whether intentional or not, he had a perfect view under her skirt as she looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay, Rito?" she asked, and he grunted, pushing his elbow under him to pull himself up, while Yami still remained sitting on his stomach, still staring at him with an odd expression.

"I'm tough, I've dealt with a whole lot worse than this." he replied, before frowning. "Yami, are you alright? You're not usually the one to fall on me…"

Her hair hadn't transformed, so she was at least holding back to some degree as she blinked a few times, her face going red as she quickly scrambled to get off him, her knee ramming between his legs in the process and causing him to shout, cringing as he leaned forward.

"I'm sorry, Rit-" She was cut off when he raised his hand, gritting his teeth and laughing.

"Don't worry about it, I should have been paying attention." he replied, groaning as he pushed himself to stand and holding his hand out to help her up as well.

She hesitated, before reaching to accept the help, tightly grabbing his hand and letting him pull her to a standing position. "Oh, right, Lala, you said you had something for Yami, right?" he asked, and Yami blinked as the princess grinned, reaching into her pocket to grab her D-Dial.

"That's right! Don't worry, it's nothing weird, just a present I designed! Umm, let me see, what number was it…"

She rooted around the catalog in the device, before Yami raised a hand to stop her, her eyes slightly narrowed as she cleared her throat.

"Wait, I wasn't here just by accident. It's good that you were with him, I had something I wanted to discuss with you both, if you'll allow me, princess."


	26. Path

"Something to discuss?" Lala asked, tilting her head as Rito rubbed the sore spot on his lower back. "Can I do my thing first?"

The Trans shook her head, balling her hands as she stood still. "No, I don't think I'll be able to say what I want to if you distract me first." she replied. "I hope you don't mind, but this is something I've been deliberating over for a while and I don't want to go off track."

Lala was silent for several seconds, before she grinned, snapping her D-Dial closed and slipping it back into her pocket, lacing her hands together behind her back. "Oh, okay! I'll be quiet, go ahead!"

She nodded, turning to look at Rito. "I'm first going to make an admission. Have you had anything strange happen since last night?"

He blinked, confused by the question, before he heard the voice in his head sigh. _**I was keeping it secret too since you didn't recognize me, but she and Mea were the ones to suggest I do this.**_

"Y-Yes, actually." he replied. "A voice. Is that why you were in my room this morning?"

She nodded, crossing her arms and closing her eyes to calm her breathing. "It was mostly Mea's doing, but she convinced me to join in as well. I wanted to observe you longer before saying anything, but Mea told me that there was nothing more to learn from her Psycho Dive, so I've been forced to tell you directly. That voice is Nemesis, after using your body as her new host."

He jolted, stepping back and up a stair as he looked down at his hands in confusion. "Wait, Nemesis...Where was she all this time? I could have talked to her before now, Mea told me she'd repented already…"

A chuckle from the now-identified voice. _**Well, there goes my cover. Still, you learn that the person who tried to destroy your planet is living inside you now, and the first thing you do is to say you'd have accepted me anyway? You really are a strange human, Yuuki Rito. If I still cared, I'd want you as my servant even more.**_

"I don't know where she was, only Mea's aware of that." Yami stated, and Lala smiled, laughing as she caught their attention.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" she asked, and Yami blinked, confused by the eagerness in her voice. "If Nemesis is back, that means everyone's back to normal, doesn't it? I was worried she'd died, she was pretty badly injured when she disappeared, after all…"

Rito turned to face her, an abnormal smile on his face. "I didn't think you were concerned with me, Lala-hime." he said, before jolting, blinking a few times as he felt himself regain control. Had Nemesis just Body Jacked him for that?

 _ **I've still not quite gotten used to your body, so that's as much as I can do. Please translate for me otherwise, I'm not capable of telepathy or anything.**_ she stated in his head, and he sighed as Lala easily accepted the apparently swing in his personality.

"Of course! You've always been nice to Rito and everyone else. Fake or not, you're not like that anymore, right? If you were, you wouldn't have made him act more confident this morning!"

"'You were aware that was me?'" Rito quoted Nemesis' voice, speaking word for word as best he could. "'I had thought I was well hidden, but even you, the last person I'd have expected to notice…' That's kind of rude, isn't it?" The last part was his own comment, and Lala grinned, before turning to Yami.

"I'm still a genius scientist, aren't I?" she asked, pulling out her D-Dial again. "And since you made a confession, I have one too. I kind of took some of your nanobots when we fought a month ago, and I've been studying the technology since then." She tapped on the D-Dial's buttons, and a small box materialized in air, dropping onto her open hand before she handed it to the Trans, who accepted it as she was too bewildered by the sudden change in conversation to reject.

The girl held the box, looking down at it as Lala talked. "I realized that you aren't actually the one performing Trance, but that it's actually those nanobots, and they're responding to your brainwaves since you were engineered to be capable of commanding them as easily as anyone else can use their normal muscles. Which means that Darkness is a result of those nanobots being temporarily shocked by your emotions going out of control and beginning to remove the limiters designed to keep you from destroying yourself. So, I made a serum that can let you focus yourself but still break those limits! It's only temporary though, I think with the diluted stuff in here, it should last about ten minutes with one dose."

The other alien stared for several seconds, before shaking her head. "...In Japanese, please." she stated, and Rito waved to get her attention.

"I don't really understand it myself, but I think what she means is that whatever's in that box will let your use Darkness without going insane." he summarized, and Yami's eyes went wide, staring down at the unassuming cardboard in her hands.

"This...In only a month, you came up with something that hundreds of years of research couldn't do?" she asked, and Lala held the back of her head, grinning sheepishly.

"Ehehe, actually, I had finished it two weeks ago, but I couldn't replicate the nanobots, so testing took a long time. I'm confident it'll work, but you shouldn't use it unless it's a real emergency...It's possible it just won't do anything. But, at least I can say that it definitely won't backfire, I spent a long time making sure it would react properly!"

Rito smiled, laughing as he stepped back down to be closer to the blonde, who was still staring down until she looked up, rearing her head back a little as she found herself very close to the boy. "Isn't that good? That means you won't have to worry about another incident like last time! Now, you'll be able to stop yourself from doing things you don't want to!"

She frowned, looking down and away from him as she thought over the implications of his statement. Just like before, she could read between the lines of what he was saying. Rito was always a straightforward person, but ever since Darkness, he had gotten better at spinning his words around her.

They were both very aware of how she felt towards him, it was as clear as day. The only reason she'd said nothing was because he had reminded her that she either had the option to keep waiting, or acknowledge that there wasn't any going back.

She could stay tight-lipped forever, but once she admitted anything, as soon as it came out into the open, the consequences would remain. She still didn't really know how he felt about her, so if she misjudged or timed it wrong, then it could very well blow back on her harder than Lala's inventions.

But, if she had this serum that let her be in control no matter what...she had no excuse anyway. Before now, she could have used Darkness as an answer for any unusual behavior she displayed, but this took that away. Which meant that she didn't have the option to keep quiet anymore. If she did, it was only hurting her, making her wall herself off just like this invention was sealed inside its box.

She had to make a decision now, or she would never be able to change her situation. So, as she steeled her resolve, she grabbed the boy's shoulder and leaned forward.

~~~At the bottom of the stairway~~~

Nana groaned as she followed behind her twin, who happily hummed to herself as she started up the stairs. "Momo, why are you so excited? Rito's still in class, don't you know?"

"It's his break time now!" she replied, grinning and looking up the stairway. "Study hall is boring anyway, and he's been avoiding me, so I'm going to make sure I-"

The girl suddenly stopped, and Nana groaned as she backed up after bumping into her sister's back, rubbing her nose as she glared at the back of Momo's head. "Hey, why did you stop? Are you trying to annoy me?"

Momo was silent for several seconds, before turning to face the girl, motioning with her head to the mid-floor landing. "Look what we've just walked into. Be quiet though, don't want to disturb them!"

"What are you talking about now?" Nana asked, but listened anyway, moving to stand next to her and leaning on the railing to look over the corner.

Her eyes widened at the sight, and without realizing it, her mouth dropped open. There, standing in their line of sight, Lala was equally surprised, glancing between her sisters and the other two next to her.

Rito's eyes were wide with shock, but he didn't have the state of mind to even lift his arms to push away as Yami held onto his shoulder, keeping him leaning forward as she locked his mouth with hers.


	27. Confession

**Sorry for the long wait after the mass update! I hopefully will be back to normal soon, but older readers are probably used to delays by now…**

* * *

While few students would have batted an eye if it had been Rito falling on some random girl, the scene now was a far cry from anything that had happened before. All three Devilukeans standing still, unsure how to respond as Yami, the girl notorious throughout Sainan for her extremely anti-ecchi nature, held the boy she was known to hate captive, the surprised human unable to rest as she finally separated from him, letting go of his collar so that he could stand up straight, frozen in place as he stared at her.

"Y-Yami, what…" Lala was never not an overly optimistic ball of happiness, but right now, even she could barely process what she'd just witnessed, her smile having fallen to a look of confusion as the Trans looked in her direction.

"I've made my decision." she replied, and though she tried to make eye contact with Rito, she found herself looking down, frowning as she stepped back. "Princess Momo. Don't take this to mean I'm supporting your plan. I have no intention of going along with something like that."

Momo blinked as she was addressed, finding the will to shake her head and step up a stair closer to the landing where the other alien stood, an uncertain smile playing across her face. "You...didn't activate Darkness again, did you?" she asked. "You...don't look any different, so-"

"I am in full control." Yami replied, turning away from Rito and reaching to grab her arm, calming the trembling that she hadn't even realized she was doing as the contents of the box rattled within. "Yuu...No, Rito. This is my answer. Accept it or don't, I've done my part."

As she began to walk away, turning to head down the flight of stairs next to the shocked twins, Rito finally regained control of himself, holding his hand out to the railing to keep himself from falling over as he felt his legs buckle under him.

"Wait, Yami! Does this mean you-"

He was cut off by her raising her head, though she stayed turned away from him so that he couldn't see her expression. "You are my target, Yuuki Rito. The meaning has changed, but that is still the truth. Be careful, or I'll find you again."

She was about to walk away, before she was stopped by Nana grabbing her shoulder, the girl's tight grip not enough to hurt the former assassin, but still plenty to prevent her from moving as she glared at the blonde, whose face returned to her normal flat expression as she looked at her.

"You went through that trouble, but you're still going to just walk away?" Nana asked, venom in her voice that she rarely had except when she was beating Rito over something. "That beast is going to take a while to answer, if you leave now, you probably never will get one."

Momo sighed, stepping down next to her sister to pat her back, a gentle motion as uncharacteristic for her as it was for Nana not to shout at Yami right now. "Nana, calm down. Of course, I'd like it if Yami-san stuck around and put the harem plan a little closer to fruition, but we've all changed since that incident happened. If she really doesn't think it's possible not to monopolize Rito-san, then all I can do is try to convince her otherwise. For you, it's-"

"Princess Momo. Princess Nana." Yami stated quietly, shaking her body to release herself from Nana's grip on her shoulder. "I'm fine with not having an answer. I've lived hundreds of years without a clear reason for anything, so I can handle this. I don't need a reply, I just wanted to get it off my chest."

Nana glared at her, but Momo pulled her backwards to get her away from Yami, laughing hesitantly. "The house is always available for you, right, Rito-san?"

She turned to the boy, who blinked, before nodding, and with the weakness in his knees, he sat down on the step, setting his hands on his knees. "Yami. I'm just going to ignore all the comments Nemesis is shouting in my head and say that I'm not going to just ignore all that." Inner Rito was in control now, he could tell, but he didn't really care, and even the cynical inner version of himself couldn't keep him from smiling. It was a genuine expression, not forced like Outer Rito's facade. This really was how he felt. "Let me sort myself out first, but as soon as I have, I'm going to find you and give a response."

Yami froze in place, her foot hanging in the air above the next step down, and she didn't respond for several seconds, before she simply gave a quiet hmph and continued down and out of sight into the first floor hallway.

With her leaving, the three princesses turned to Rito, who laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Do I have to explain?" he asked.

"Of course you do!" Nana said, her voice returning to her usual snappiness as she walked up to the landing, arms on her hips as she looked down at the boy, while Momo stood behind her. "You two never talked after that whole mess happened a month ago, now this happens all of a sudden? What did you do?"

Rito blinked, looking at the angry girl and scratching his head. "I can't say I did anything, and it's not like we've had zero contact. I kind of already knew a while ago, though...We just decided not to say anything."

 _ **I wasn't aware you were starting to come out of your shell on your own.**_ Nemesis mused, chuckling in his head. _**Was I even needed?**_

"Was it something to do with that thing with Mo-" Lala asked, and he cut her off by raising his hand and shaking her head, laughing as he pressed his other hand to the ground to stand up again.

"No, nothing about that. Yami's just a very reserved person, and I'm still not entirely sure what to think about everyone else being around all the time. You know I'm not very decisive."

"I don't think that's true, Rito-san." Momo said, smiling. "You chose to hide things to protect her, didn't you? I bet that wasn't even just since Darkness, that sounds like something that she's been stewing over for a lot longer. Did you know even before Nemesis started getting involved?"

He blinked, before shaking his head again, leaning on the railing of the stairway to keep his balance, as he was still shaky from what had just happened. He recalled when the girl had decided to tell him about Tearju and her past, back when they got stuck together by Lala's magnet. "I had a suspicion, but nothing more until Darkness happened. It's probably obvious, but I'm pretty slow with stuff like that."

"You should chase after her." Momo said, and he laughed again.

"That's not going to work, I can't find her if she doesn't want to be found." he replied. "It's fine, I'll let her think about things before I try to respond." He sighed, scratching his chin as he started down the stairs. "Anyway, I still need to get a water and lemonade for Saruyama. Break's not going to last much longer."

Lala smiled, following behind him as the twins watched them leave, before Nana frowned. "You're different now, aren't you?" she asked, tapping her foot on the ground. "It's hard to explain it, but…"

"You're more mature." Momo finished. "It's like you've started to grow up."

Rito turned to her, blinking a few times before grinning. "I think it's more that I'm just more honest." he replied. "Since I decided I'm not going to hide anything anymore. Sorry, I'm going to do my best to get rid of that 'carnivore' you always talk about."

Momo hummed, before responding. "Well, I like that part of you too. The dependable Rito is just as fun as the easily embarrassed one!"


	28. Pop

**So, I didn't realize until after last chapter was posted and out, but that was the final chapter of Act I! I've noticed people in the reviews who were very excited for the current story, and also those who were worried or annoyed by how long it was taking for anything to happen, so I thought I'd make a note about that now.**

 **Act I was primarily for setting up the characters and their relations, and have several plot threads to keep in mind for the rest, and I agree that it definitely diverged greatly from the initial idea as well as how DKDC portrayed it. Whether you loved it or hated it for the bigger focus on calmer and more peaceful interactions, Act II will be moving the story along a lot faster. The introductions are done, now for the impact they will have…**

 **I hope you enjoy, and those who were complaining will be happy with this compromise. It was planned pretty much this way from the beginning, but even I was surprised by just how long Act I took. Guess Addvertiser is right, it's my style of really short chapters that caused this to take sooo long. Here's to getting back on track!**

 **Oh, also, I just realized the 31st is the first anniversary of this story! Feel free to make suggestions on what I should do for it! I'm not doing another update spam, those are only for the Mass Update Day.**

* * *

Nemesis was bored. Unlike Mea prior to the smallest Trans being expelled, Rito's mind possessed some form of color, a world of its own that only she could access. This was the embodiment of his consciousness, a visual representation of everything he was.

That is...everything she could see. As she was now, there was still a significant portion of his mind that she was unable to view thanks to how little time she had to settle down. With Mea, she had had years to get used to her body and the girl was young and impressionable, so it had been easy to simply take over her mind completely, but with Rito, there were 17 years of experiences and decisions that he'd made that she needed to figure out.

It didn't help that no matter what she did, no matter how deep she wandered into this interior world, she couldn't seem to find the 'darkness' that Mea had been referring to. She had always prided herself on her ability to peer into the thoughts of others, but Rito was like a brick wall, locking in memories of much of his life from her view.

There were many mysteries she had yet to unveil, and to make things more complicated, she had no idea if they were intentionally hidden or not. Rito clearly had a problem with revealing his inner thoughts, but was even he aware of it?

The incident that made him look up to Sairenji Haruna. His childhood and why Kotegawa Yui occasionally appeared. That thing with Momioka Risa. She could access none of them, and save for her own observations, she hadn't even been aware he was connected to some of the people that she now was aware of.

At least she knew what Outer Rito's mentality was like, based on the world she was walking in right now. A strange stone forest that glittered like crystal, blinding her with the light refracting from some unknown source.

It suited him perfectly, at least in her eyes. Just like his outer self, it was a pretty but hollow place, crafted perfectly to appear artistic but that cut her feet as she walked, and she didn't dare touch a leaf or branch for fear that it may shatter. This was a shell and nothing more, a place created to distract those who peered in and make them turn away from the ground below the surface.

She had never seen such a complete shield as this one. Konjiki no Yami also had a similar outer personality, but that one was more reactionary, built around distrust of others. This one...Even she couldn't guess at its cause. Was it even related to any sort of childhood trauma? She simply didn't know enough about his history before meeting Mea to have a clue.

She flinched as she felt another blade crack underfoot, looking down and stepping away to inspect the damage. She felt no pain, and this was not her physical body, but she still could have her own mind damaged by this weird scenery, so she had to ensure that she would be fine to proceed.

Her eyes narrowed, and she knelt down to pull the blade from her foot, which healed over instantly thanks to this not being the real world. The recovery wasn't what caught her attention, nor was the shard she found, but rather, that was revealed by its destruction.

A small patch of dirt. Actual, brown soil, not the glassy stone of Outer Rito's world. So, somehow, she must have stumbled onto some memory that tied the two together?

She glanced at the shattered piece, still held in her hand, and blinked, holding it closer to her to peer into the structure of the crystal. The sound of glass breaking, a pained cry, backing away to fall in the water of the bathroom. He'd injured his hand, then? When was this? She had noticed before that his hand was a bit scabbed over on the knuckles, but it looked old. Had she misjudged how quickly humans were capable of healing?

This was the first time it bothered her how little she acknowledged the inferior species. Without a human sense of time, she had no idea when exactly all these events took place, and without that knowledge, she didn't know how long it had been since this shell had begun to form.

She groaned, scratching her head as she carefully sat down, making sure not to accidentally sit on any other spiky bits. Trying to use her abilities for a good cause was a lot harder than destroying the world, honestly.

The patch of ground wasn't large, but as she reached to tug at the crystal surrounding it, it broke away easily, like a brittle layer of candy, much to her surprise and amusement. Though she didn't know the full context of that shard, it must have been a cornerstone in this area. Perhaps she had been lucky enough to happen upon a large region's weak point. Surely this was not the very center of the forest, but it was enough to find purchase and begin to dig.

~~~In the real world~~~

"Rito, are you alright?" Mikan asked, patting her older brother's back as he blinked, turning to face her.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just, a lot to think about is all." he stated, smiling, and she sighed, shaking her head and pointing at his plate in front of him.

"You've been swirling your noodles around for the last several minutes. Maybe you should go rest." she said, frowning. "Is it about Yami?"

She ignored Nana as she shouted in pain after ramming her knee into the bottom of the counter, the girl groaning as she wrapped her hands around the injured knee.

"Nana, you idiot. You're too obvious." Momo said, grinning mischievously as her twin glared at her.

Rito turned away from her, laughing quietly as he scratched his arm. "Yeah, I guess I'll head up after all. I'll come back later to eat, but don't wait for me. I think I just need to lie down for a few minutes…"

Mikan smiled, reaching to pat her brother's back as he stood up, and as he walked, Nana hobbled behind him, grumbling in annoyance.

"I'm getting skin cream." the flat girl stated, hmphing as she turned to Rito, who had stopped to let her pass. "Don't wait on me, I'll be fine but I'm still going to walk slower than you. Just go."

He nodded at the order, ignoring the snappy tone in her voice and turning to continue on, starting up the stairs with her close behind as the others watched.

"You think she realizes how close she is to him?" Mikan asked the other twin, who chuckled, holding her hand to her mouth.

"No, I don't think so. Maybe seeing Yami-san cast aside her reputation for something so important hit her hard. Nana's never been very good at speaking her mind, you know?"

"I can tell. I wonder if she's jealous?" Mikan mused, humming in thought. "She took too long to make up her mind, and Yami-san took her chance before she got to."

"I can still hear you!" Nana shouted, groaning as she kicked her foot to work out the pain in her knee, and she was about to say something else when Rito yelled something unintelligible from the stairway above her, and her eyes went wide as the two tumbled onto the ground, the boy having slipped somehow and twisted in the air to slam into her.

The thud was familiar to everyone in the house, but it had been over a month since this had last happened, so Mikan took the initiative to stand up and check that the two were okay, only to find Rito with his face buried in the girl's crotch, hand on her leg in the same style of impossible positioning he had been famous for over the last couple years.

Nana's face was as red as a tomato as he groaned, looking up and freezing in place as he realized the situation they were in, before his eyes widened as Nana instinctively kicked her good leg, sending him flying up and backwards onto the stairs.

The Devilukean blinked as Mikan went still, going quiet as her hand balled into a fist as she heard a loud crack. Yes, Rito got hit a lot, but never had such a sound happened, and the shout he made before passing out as his face landed on the stairway told them both that Nana's aim had been more perfect than ever before.


	29. Fragile

**Previous version had an error, whoops.**

* * *

Nana had not been feeling well for the last couple days, a painful stomach ache and throbbing in her head building up. Stress had been piling on, with her interior conflict over whether she may have caused Rito's injury the day before, along with Momo being oddly quiet the night before and ignoring her presence after dinner. Now, she only had more to think about as she had witnessed Yami's resolve earlier.

It wasn't that Yami confessed in such a way that bothered her. It was the fact that she was alright with having no confirmation, with just leaving before Rito could respond. The pinkette still didn't know exactly what she thought of the boy and whether she liked or hated him, but she had never liked people who walked away from issues that they started, and when someone like Yami, who had all the power and determination she needed to see things through to the end, still would rather leave things as is, it really did not sit well with the princess.

She heard the blonde's name stated from behind her, and instinctively jerked her leg, shouting as a lance of pain shot through her knee as she slammed it into the bottom of the counter, causing her to fall back and off her stool as she groaned, wrapping her hands around the injured knee.

"Nana, you idiot. Are you that obvious?" Momo asked, laughing as the girl grunted, accepting Lala's hand as her older sibling helped her stand back up, sitting heavily back on the stool.

"Thanks, Aneue." she stated, and glared at Momo. "And thank you for doing absolutely nothing to help. I feel like I broke something."

Momo whistled innocently, before their attention was taken by Rito standing up to head away, and Nana groaned, holding her injured knee as she pushed herself to stand up.

"I'm getting skin cream." she stated, stepping forward and flinching at the feeling of pain through her leg as she limped forward, waving away Lala as she tried to help. "Don't worry, I've got it. I'll be fine, just slow." She glared at Rito, who had stopped to check back on her. She didn't want him worrying about her, not when she still didn't really know the full story of what had been going on. "Don't worry about me, just go."

Why was she so annoyed today? Was it just because of Yami's unreasonable hit and run tactic? She really didn't like the other alien's strategy, but it wasn't like she was jealous, and she had no genuine ill will towards her. Let her take the beast for herself, for all she cared. So, why did it sit so wrong with the Devilukean?

She grunted in annoyance at the aching in her leg, kicking it as she stepped up to work out the tingling in her nerves before looking up at Rito, who had stumbled and, in a move that still was surprising for him, caught himself on the railing, having set a hand on his forehead as he groaned.

Noticing her stare, he smiled, laughing it off as he stood up straight. "Sorry, just got dizzy all of a sudden." he stated, letting go of the railing to continue upwards. "I think I'm good now…Huh?"

The boy's eyes had gone half-lidded, and without realizing it, he had somehow turned around, tripping on nothing as he tumbled downwards. As her leg was still raised from working out the annoying ache, she didn't have the balance to dodge, and so she was helpless as he crashed into her, sending both of them spilling onto the ground below. It was a good thing she hadn't yet started actually climbing, or it would have possibly been dangerous, but as it was, it still took her a second to process what had just happened.

Rito's legendary aim had returned in full force, and she didn't even need to look down to recognize the uncomfortable feeling of a hand on her leg and a nose where one should not be, and without thinking, her muscle memory went into gear, her good leg kicking him square in the face with a shriek.

It was an action that seemed to come in slow motion as she realized what she'd done, processing the event while Rito flew through the air. She'd promised not to do that anymore only the night before, how could she already break that so soon? It hadn't even been a full day, and if she was right that yesterday morning had been her fault, then…

The thought was broken with the sound of a crack, and her eyes widened as she realized that Mikan had rushed to the scene, standing over her while her sisters held back, unsure what to do as they stared at the stairway where Rito had fallen.

As her senses returned to normal, she sat up, her gaze moving to him as she finally realized that he wasn't moving, lying over the stairway with his face awkwardly propped against one of the steps next to the wall.

"O-Onii-chan!" Mikan shouted, and with that call, the quiet spell was broken as everyone rushed to his aid, leaving Nana frozen on the ground, her mouth open and hand outstretched as she got halfway to getting off the ground, though she couldn't react quickly enough before she was blocked by the others rushing to his side, Mikan quickly kneeling over to turn his head around and inspect the damage that had been done.

Rito was clearly unconscious now, eyes closed as Mikan lifted him up to turn him around, while Lala flipped him to his back, her usual permanent grin having faded as she recognized the gravity of the situation, even avoiding making a comment as Momo went to help Nana stand. The girl's knees had given out now, from the combination of the painful hit earlier and simple shock at what she'd just done, leaving her to rest on her twin's shoulder as they judged the boy's condition.

He had slammed his forehead into the lip of one of the steps, leaving a bruise that ran down his face to his nose, which was bloodied and bent at an awkward angle. A reflexive flinch when Mokan touched his jaw showed that it had been damaged too, possibly broken given the looseness of the joint on one side. His body seemed fine, but his face had definitely taken the brunt of the strike, so Mikan quickly turned to the aliens, her face twisted to an uncharacteristic frown as she spoke, keeping her voice cool and level as best she could while she took charge, though even she wasn't perfect, an unavoidable shakiness punctuating her sentences.

"Momo, call an ambulance. Lala, we have a first aid kit under the sink, so go get it and help me here. Nana…" She shook her head, turning back to facing her brother. "Just...go find something to distract yourself."

Without waiting for more instructions, Momo gently set the girl, still confused and staring at Rito, down on the ground to rush off along with Lala to perform their respective actions.

Mikan's eyes darted around as she went through the basic medical procedures, checking Rito's breathing and heartbeat, and finding that they were normal and he seemed to be relatively alright, moved on to lifting his head to hold his nose up, in an effort to keep him capable of breathing while Lala got the kit.

She blinked, before her eyes dulled, and she frowned, turning to Nana with a gaze on her face not suitable for someone performing first aid. " **Nana-hime, I'm putting you in charge of keeping him breathing. Come over here, I'll show you how."**

The girl jolted in surprise at the shift in her tone, obeying without question as she climbed up the stairs to sit next to her and watching as she went through the basics of what she was doing, talking over the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen as Lala hunted for the kit.

"I don't know anything about helping people, aren't you better for-" The glare she received shut her up, and she turned to focus on repositioning the boy to sit up. The blood dripping from his nose got on her hands in the process, but she had the sense not to pay attention, focusing entirely on keeping him stable. This was her fault after all, so the least she could do was help reverse as much of the damage as she could.

" **I have as little capability to save someone's life right now as you do, but this girl is far more wary than you are. I may do more harm than good should I try to heal his injuries from the inside, but I do have the medical understanding to instruct you. Pay attention, there's more to this than you can see from the outside."**

"The out-...You're not Mikan, are you?" Nana asked, narrowing her eyes, and the girl shook her head, turning back to the boy.

" **You're right, I'm not. I don't care if you reveal my identity, right now, it's more important that Yuuki Rito is hospitalized and recovers safely. It's not just about him, I'd rather my host not be injured right after I Trans-Fused."**

Nana was about to reply, before Lala showed up again, carrying a white box with her that Mikan, or rather, whoever was controlling Mikan, grabbed, quickly taking out the equipment needed while Nana held him up to allow her to clean his face and apply gauze.

"You're pretty good at this…" Nana commented, and Mikan smiled, shaking her head.

" **This isn't the first time I've had to use such a roundabout way of doing things. I don't have a central body, so I need to use other people in order to interact with the world. See this as me saving myself, not as helping Yuuki Rito."**

Lala blinked, tilting her head as she took the box from the motioning girl, now not needing the remaining tools within. "The way you're talking, Mikan...It's Nemesis, isn't it?"

Mikan turned to her, nodding tersely. " **This is the extent of what I can do. It's up to the human doctors to do anything further. I still don't have the energy to maintain Body Jacking for long, so I'll be going back under now. If you don't mind, I'd rather Yuuki Mikan not be aware of this. I'd never hear the end of it if she knew I could see everything her precious brother does."**


	30. Reinforcement

It was exhausting to Body Jack at the same time as continuing to observe Rito's mindscape, and the interior complexity of both of the Yuuki siblings certainly didn't help matters. The only other person that Nemesis had delved this deep into was Mea, and with her empty, impressionable shell of a mind, the other Trans had not been nearly as complicated as this. Back then, she could tweak whatever she liked, picking apart memories and piecing them back together to ensure that she stayed loyal, but Rito was not like that. His mind was that of someone already maturing, 17 years of experience building up a specific structure that she had been foolish enough to try to manipulate the same as she normally would.

She should have realized as soon as she laid eyes on this crystal world that touching things she couldn't recognize would not work out perfectly, and now, as she cursed to herself while backing away from the hole she'd dug, she could see exactly how inexperienced she really was.

She had thought herself a master of mental manipulation, but now that she watched as the hole she'd dug began to vibrate, it was clear that she simply did not have the understanding to deal with this.

She'd intended to drag the dirt from below onto the surface, but instead, all she had succeeded in doing was removing it, pulling it away into some ether that she couldn't access anymore. It was a strange experience for her who had only ever seen a straightforward void, and even with the work she'd put in, the crystal now had begun growing back over the hole. It was slow, but visible, and as she stepped forward to look over it, she noted that now, it seemed to be growing back thicker than it had been before, but shied away from the spot where the original shard had broken off.

So, she had made some progress, even if it resulted in the rest becoming harder to break through. At least she had some sort of access point, though she was not precise enough to enter it now.

She sat down cross-legged, ignoring the annoying unevenness of the ground below her, and pondered what to do now. She'd done what she could on the outside, so now, her duty was to learn more about this strange world, and this time, in a way that does not cause a disaster like last time. She couldn't be so reckless again.

She grinned, laughing to herself and ignoring the odd silence around her as her voice did not echo at all in the environment. It had been so long since she had a real challenge, but now, she had finally managed to look over the precipice of this pit. What had Mea seen at the very bottom?

~~~In the Real World~~~

"How long has it been since there were so many people in the group?" Saruyama asked, laughing as he stood with his hands behind his head. "I mean, you've even got Sawada here."

"Well, Risa's going, so I should too, right?" the short girl stated, tapping her best friend's side. "Besides, I've got to tell him my manager wanted to meet him, he'll probably be at work as soon as he's out of the hospital."

"He shouldn't start working, resting is important." Sairenji stated, frowning. "My sister once broke her arm at work, and she ended up needing surgery because she wouldn't stay at home."

"Rito-san's durable, but he hasn't broken anything before today, so I agree, he should stay out of trouble for a while." Momo said, humming in thought. "Mikan-san said she'd meet us there, so we should hurry."

"I've never been in an Earth hospital before, what's it like?" Lala asked, grinning sheepishly at the glare Nana gave her.

"You've sent a lot of people there since coming here, haven't you? Have you never visited any of them?"

"But, most of them returned after a day or so and were fine!" she responded, and Momioka laughed, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"You haven't really changed, have you, Lala-san? Honestly, you're crueler than Yami-san sometimes. How could you just ignore the people you directly affect?"

"Would you pay attention already?" called a voice, and the group turned to find Kotegawa stopping behind them, an annoyed expression on her face as she crossed her arms. "I kept calling to you and nobody noticed. Did something happen to Yuuki-kun?"

"Ara, are you worried about him?" Momo asked, a smirk playing on her face as she motioned the girl over. "He got injured, we're visiting him in the hospital now. Or are you just here to bother him?"

The black-haired girl blinked, before frowning, setting her hands on her hips with a hmph. "I still have to make sure he's alright, if he got into a fight then it's my duty to settle things. I'll come along."

With that, she merged with the group, Saruyama leading the charge down the sidewalk as Nana shifted to the other end of the crowd, not wanting to get too close to the new addition after she'd made such a comment.

~~~In the Hospital~~~

Rito hummed in response to the questions the doctor gave him, which thankfully were mostly yes or no so that he didn't need to open his mouth, which right now was barely mobile after being shot up with anaesthesia and the joint put back in place.

Luckily, he'd avoided serious problems, getting away with only a hairline fracture and a couple broken teeth, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. If he could handle Nana's normal kicks, then this was no different.

He narrowed his eyes, unable to change his mouth's shape from the swelling caused by the numbing solution. No doubt, she'd end up blaming herself for this, and if not her, then Mikan would surely have something to say. He'd already been told he would not require surgery, but it would still be a few days before he could get back to normal, and the teeth that had to be pulled weren't coming back.

Still, for some reason, he found himself not wanting to frown, even with the doctor's back turned. At a time like this, Inner Rito would be shouting his frustrations in his head, or at least, Nemesis would say something, but now, both had gone quiet. What had happened?

He didn't remember much about what had actually caused Nana to kick him, but something strange must have happened. He wanted to think that it was just random happenstance, but he'd been doing so well at maintaining his balance that he couldn't imagine why he'd failed just then.

...Silence. No inner complaints on the matter, just an odd echoing inside his head. There was no response from that version of him that hated the world, only his theorizing repeating over and over again.

Where had Inner gone? Why had it chosen now, a time when it should be the one in charge, to disappear? And why was he not really worried? It was confusing, sure, but it felt like this was supposed to be the case. He must just be forgetting something important, that's all. Something that the other version of him had decided required its absence.

Could it even do that? It had acted unbidden for a long time now, so what could possibly cause it to suddenly vanish?

His attention was broken as he heard his name called, looking towards the door, where he found Saruyama grinning, waving to him as a group of the people he knew headed into the room, while his doctor shuffled them to keep them out of his way. "You're looking pretty bad, aren't you?" his best friend said, laughing. "But, you're alive at least. Seriously, can anything take you down?"


	31. Anniversary Chapter: Send-off

**Happy anniversary, everyone! This will be the only anniversary Snapped is getting, since it's planned to end before the year is over, so I thought I'd do a chapter I had originally planned to be an epilogue before cutting out. This is set 15 years in the future from the current story, and is only semi-canon, so don't take it too seriously. Just enjoy, and hopefully the story will continue to be interesting to the end!**

* * *

Mikan hummed in contentment as she stood in front of the stove, working on mixing ingredients for the night's meal. In times like these, it always felt the same, an air of repetition that helped settle her mood and let her ignore the chaos in the house. Time had moved quickly in the Yuuki household, and even as everyone grew up and settled into their own routines apart from each other, there were still instances like this where everything felt exactly the same as it had long ago.

Nowadays, she couldn't even remember the first time she'd picked up a ladle, and it was even hard to remember exactly what had gone on the first time all the other residents had arrived. Really, 16 years had passed in a flash, and it felt like a lifetime for the woman.

Most of their friends had moved elsewhere now, chasing work and romance in other parts of the world, and in some instances, the galaxy, and now, it was just the Yuuki family remaining. Just as it had been all that time ago, back when she still referred to her brother as "Onii-chan" rather than "Papa".

She'd picked up on the nickname from Celine's habits, the Plantian having never stopped using such honorifics for her perceived parents ever since she had learned to speak, and she knew that both she and her brother agreed not to question it. Celine was their child after all, regardless of parentage and the circumstances in which she came.

A thud resounded from the second floor, and she only gave a brief glance to the ceiling before turning back to her work with a smile. She could clearly hear Rito's complaints through the floorboards and Celine's high-pitched laugh as something dragged on the ground. Today was the day, then.

It was sad knowing that soon, it would only be the original residents left within the house, but there was a mixture of pride in the sadness as well. Neither she nor Rito had gone to college, having too much to deal with between raising the child and Rito's work with Tearju, so that made Celine the first since their mother to leave the city for higher education.

Was it ironic or fitting that she'd chosen to go into botany?

From the stairwell, she could hear the rumbling of wheels as Rito dragged down the luggage necessary for the graduate's trip, quietly grumbling to himself as Celine talked his ear off as she tended to do.

It had been a long time since he'd last tripped on something, but judging by the red mark on his forehead and his annoyed efforts to realign his dentures, he had managed to give their daughter a proper Yuuki goodbye.

"Why did you need to pack so many clothes? Are there no stores in Tokyo?" the man asked as the green-haired girl laughed, gracefully slipping around him and standing on the floor below to help drag the suitcases towards the door.

"I'm not going to have any time to go shopping, I have to explore campus and get my dorm set up too!" Reasonable excuses, and he could do nothing but shrug it off as he leaned on the post at the end of the railing.

"Be careful on the train. If someone tries anything, you're free to use your pollen." he stated, as she grinned, tapping her chin in an expression of faux thoughtfulness.

"I'm an adult now, so I can decide when I use it. So, your permission doesn't mean anything anymore!"

He smirked, waving a hand in the air. "Until you're out of the house, you're still under our rules." He was about to say more when the door intercom rang, the girl jumping as a voice came from the speaker.

"Yo, I know you're in there. You think you can get away without a goodbye?" The voice was instantly recognizable to the family, and Celine quickly turned to open the door with a grin, before quickly being barreled into by a smaller form, a little girl who wrapped her arms around her waist as Saruyama looked on from where he stood behind.

"Don't go, Onee-san!" the child shouted, staring up at Celine, who laughed, reaching her hand down to pull the blue strands of hair out of her face before wrapping her arms around the girl's back.

"It won't be long before I'm back, Fuyucchi." As she always did with the younger child, Celine took on a natural motherly tone, mimicked from observing Mikan for years, and it seemed to calm her down.

"Fuyumi's as energetic as ever, isn't she, Kenichi?" Rito asked, and Saruyama gave his standard grin, scratching the back of his head.

"It's just us today." he stated, raising his other arm, which held a wrapped box. "Bento from the wife, Tokyo's a long ride away. I'll just put it here." With that, he set it down on the suitcase pile, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

The man whistled as he held a hand to the top of Celine's head, waving it towards him to measure their height. "I keep forgetting that you're taller than all of us now. I wish I had that crazy sunflower DNA you do."

"It's more a nuisance than anything." the girl replied, turning as Mikan walked into the room, waving to their family friend.

"It's been a while since you actually gave Fuyumi permission to come over." she stated, smiling as the girl noticed her presence, separating from Celine before rushing toward her with an excited wave.

"Yuuki-basan!" she called, and Mikan knelt to return her hug.

"You're in middle school now, aren't you getting a little old to be calling me that? It's Yuuki-san, Yuuki-san!"

"I'm not going to grow up, so it's fine!" Fuyumi declared, and the group slowly transferred over to the living room, Fuyumi gravitating toward Mikan's lap as Rito looked around, grinning at the sight of everyone sitting around the coffee table.

"Guess this is the last time for a while that most of us will be around, won't it?" he asked, and Saruyama nodded, crossing his arms as he closed his eyes.

"I hate to bother Mikan, but I figured a celebratory dinner would be nice. I can't cook though, so-"

"The azuki is almost done." the woman replied before he could finish. "Of course we're celebrating, it's an important occasion!"

"I should have brought sake too. You can drink now, right, Celine-chan?" Saruyama asked, tilting his head quizzically.

"I'm only 18, and you know I can't have alcohol. My petals would shrivel up, and I'd rather not be bedridden right before I go."

"Right, right. Plant metabolism and all that. Why can't science just be waved away for a bit?" Typical of Saruyama's carefree attitude, only he would say something like that.

"You kill our child, it's on you." Rito stated in a light hearted tone, and the conversation continued on, with Fuyumi quietly listening to the group as they chattered.


	32. Reconstitution

**Yeah, I'm late on another chapter. I had intended to finish it by Friday, but got caught up in other things. Here it is though!**

 **Also, I thought I'd mention it since I kept forgetting to, but Chapter 1 is technically noncanon, so for those who have been using it as reference, that is inaccurate. It was designed more as a hook than actual catalyst for the story. I also changed the summary to reflect the newer direction Snapped is taking, and I'll eventually add a similar note to Chapter 2's AN (and probably clean it up too since long ANs aren't really my thing).**

 **Another note. Last chapter was NOT CANON, so it is not able to be used as reference for the story's future. Just saying for those who were confused.**

* * *

"It's hard to look at you when you're like that, man." Saruyama said, laughing as Rito hummed in response, the two sharing a fist bump before the boy moved aside to let the others in the group file around the bed.

"Think you can talk?" Nana asked, though she visibly jolted when he faced her, part of her body hidden behind Momo's shoulder as she stood uncomfortably next to Mikan, the two looking at her as Momo laughed, raising a hand to rub her twin's head, much to her annoyance.

"She's the reason we're a bit late, she spent 20 minutes in the school bathroom just washing her hands. Probably believes you blame her for sending you here."

"And why wouldn't he?" Mikan asked, crossing her arms. "It's lucky that I was able to respond so quickly, or things might have been worse." She groaned, scratching the side of her head and closing her eyes. "It's a good thing Lala took over when she did, I'm pretty sure I passed out too. Point being, you're not getting out of here without apologizing to him."

"Nana-san, this was your doing?" Kotegawa asked, frowning as she glared at the girl, who shrank back before being wrapped up by Momioka's arms.

"Hey, accidents happen, and you know Nana's not good at dealing with problems. She probably just got a lucky shot in, it was bound to happen eventually. Sorry, Yuuki-san." She winked at the boy, who had raised his hand to get the attention of the group, but as they were focused on Nana, he sweatdropped and turned his head to Saruyama.

"Hm?" His best friend immediately focused on him, and Rito shrugged, though his best friend got the message, laughing and touching the back of his head. "I know, this was supposed to be us making sure you're okay, and everyone's just riffing on Nana-chan. Want me to tell them for you?"

Rito nodded, making his best effort to smile with the swelling of his cheeks. At least, it seemed that Nana wasn't being truly hurt, just teased in jest by everyone except Kotegawa and Mikan, the two of which were no doubt legitimately annoyed by the situation.

Still, it was nice to see most of the group getting along, even at the cost of them ignoring his presence. That's how it tended to be anyway after all, he was a catalyst and little more for most of the interactions when the group size was over 4 people.

"Alright, why don't we focus on the actual reason we're here?" Saruyama stated, after coughing to get the attention of the girls. "We're not blaming anyone, you know Rito'll just claim it was his fault for losing his balance again." A nod from the subject of conversation to confirm his statement, and he grinned. "We all know Rito doesn't like conflict, so let's all be friends here. Let the blame come when he can give his own statement."

Nana breathed a sigh of relief as she found the people around her spacing out enough to stand comfortably, while Lala raised her hand to get their attention.

"Yeah, we shouldn't be fighting! We've had worse problems in the past, haven't we? And we always got through them!"

"Lala-san, most of those were your doing." Kotegawa stated, earning a typical "Ehehe..." from the eldest princess.

"We shouldn't blame Lala-san for her actions either." Haruna stated, keeping her hands clasped in front of her. "It's all in the past, and we should follow Yuuki-kun's philosophy of forgetting the past, shouldn't we?"

The boy flinched subconsciously, blinking in confusion at his own reaction as he seemed to have not been noticed. It was true that he thought that way, but for some reason, it hurt a little hearing it stated aloud, especially by Sairenji. Was that really the only belief she ever noticed in him?

As quickly as the unsettled feeling came, it disappeared again, and he shrugged his shoulders as he found the girls turning to face him, guided by Haruna's statement. It was good to be known as a person who didn't look back, after all, and he did want himself to be seen that way, so no need to be saddened when someone else says it.

Sawada turned to the doctor, tilting her head. "How long will it be before he can talk normally again? And when will he be discharged?"

The doctor looked at her from where he sat in his chair, nodding to acknowledge her questions. "Are you his sister?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No, just a friend." She pointed her thumb at Mikan, who nodded in response to the motion.

"I'm his sister, Mikan." she stated, and the doctor hummed in affirmation.

"He'll be discharged later today, and he should be able to speak again by tonight, but until the dentures he ordered come in and the swelling goes down, it'll take time for him to fully get back to normal." He waved his hand in the direction of his charge, who was looking between Saruyama and the girls as his friend spoke in his stead. "He has unusually good recovery speed for a human, and his medical records are spotless. If he didn't have parents confirmed on his record, I would have thought him another extraterrestial in disguise."

Mikan blinked in shock, stepping to stand closer to the professional. "I'm not really surprised by that, but you know about the aliens?" she asked, and the man chuckled, leaning back in his seat.

"It's the public who have been in the dark for a while. Those of us who deal with injuries and other emergencies have known about their existence for years now. We can't deal with their problems if we aren't aware of their presence, right?"

"You're trained to handle aliens too?"

"No, I'm not myself. Here in Japan, most of their problems are dealt with by a singular entity outside the government's control. But, that's not for you kids to know about, so just treat it as some sort of welfare program. I'm just here to help your brother recover."

Mikan narrowed her eyes, before nodding, sighing while she moved on from the revelation. "Do I have to do anything to help while he's recovering? Everyone with pink hair lives with us too, and so does an infant alien that's with her babysitter right now." Thank Mikado-sensei for never really appearing to be busy.

"Mostly the concern is with diet, since his jaw won't be very mobile, so prepare soft foods for him, especially fish. There's a few other things, I'll run them by you when your friends leave, since it's more sensitive medical information. Are you parents available?"

"No, they aren't in town, so I manage the house." she replied, and the man nodded, allowing her to go back to the conversation with the others while he rested his head on a fist, a small smile on his face.

"Take care of yourselves, you're all too young to be getting injured like this."

~~~On the _Lunatique_ ~~~

Yami sighed as she stood still in the exit from the shower, letting the ship's heated air currents dry her off. It was a luxury that she had yet to find on Earth, and one of the few reasons she still had for coming on board.

Another reason was the solitude it gave her, and she certainly needed it right now. She'd turned off the ship computer's voice for now, not wanting to listen to its conversation, and so it left her with a sense of complete isolation. Up here, she was the only one around, and there was nothing but thousands of miles of space between her and the surface of the planet.

It was the best place that she could be when she wanted no interruptions, and right now, she had too much to think about.

She'd done what she wanted and properly confessed to the boy she'd called a target for so long, and now, it left her with a strange sense of contentment, wandering into the ship's halls as she allowed her Trance to slip her normal outfit onto herself without paying much attention. Before now, she had thought it would be too embarrassing to face Rito afterwards, but she found herself looking forward to returning to Sainan...even to going to school, which she almost never felt inclined to do.

She had been genuine in her desire not to receive a response, knowing that whatever his answer may be, it would be problematic for both of them. She had no interest in sharing with the other girls, and especially was wary of how Momo would react, but even that wasn't as important to her as Rito himself.

She still didn't care for his nature as a lucky accidental pervert or how he always avoided trouble despite his reputation, so an actual relationship with him would be less than ideal, and the last thing she wanted was for her image of him to be tarnished by being closer to him than she was now. As it stood, she interacted with him rarely enough that she was able to form an idealized version of him, and though she was fully aware it was all in her head, that was no different than in the books she favored reading. What was wrong with a one sided love for a false view of someone? She certainly had never experienced a proper romance, so that was in line with her imagination.

However, she also was aware that such contentment with the status quo was just as dangerous as pursuing the next step. For a normal person, or even another of the Trans, it would be fine, but for her, she had to be careful not to be too happy with her own life. She had a version of herself that could easily be triggered again, and she did not want another Darkness Incident, especially since she had no idea whether she would be able to regain her sanity a third time.

Hopefully, that worry was in itself enough to prevent Darkness from rising again, and if it became clear that it might happen for real, she had that serum Princess Lala gave her. The girl was quirky and her inventions were often brojen, but Yami was also aware that was less due to her being clumsy and more that human and Devilukean genetics were different. Those creations were designed for her own use and that of her race, not for a totally different species'. A Trans could use them as intended, especially if what the princess had said was true.

A suppressant designed from the very technology that made Yami unique. Such a thing was strange to think about, especially after the Eve Project was dismantled, but that one dose could very well be a gateway into leading a proper normal life here on this planet.

Maybe she could allow herself to be happy after all.


	33. Gears

Nemesis hummed to herself as she finally found a good place to sit down and rest without too many shards sticking into her rear, looking around at her surroundings. Like everywhere else, everything here was covered in a layer of crystal, but it was thinner here, and at her touch, a bit more flexible, allowing her to brush away branches that got in her face without worry of breaking them and look down at the dirt below.

This must be near the fringes of the world she was in, though as she looked outward, all she could see was more of the same scenery. It was growing thinner, but no matter how long she walked for, there seemed no end to it. There was not a single place where the inner voice of the boy she was caring for could come through, not without crystal still choking it like ivy. There were a few places where such a thing had happened, twisted pillars and rocky outcrops whose memories she did recognize as those few times the boy had spoken honestly, but not a single one had broken through without her help.

She wasn't going to attempt digging through again, even with the suffocating layer so thin here that she could almost feel cracks forming simply by walking. By now, she could ignore the cuts on her feet and move onward, but it was exhausting to do so. Where forest had given way to scrublands and fields, now it was becoming more taxing on her to venture this far from the center.

Her slowly forming map of Rito's mindscape was still incomplete, but now, she understood some sense of the scale, and her suspicions were confirmed by this particular expedition. The forest was the center, where these crystal structures were growing from. Somewhere inside, she would find the source and then she could make a proper plan.

She twirled her fingers in her hair, sighing as she looked up at the sky, cloudy enough that she could look without fear of being blinded by the sun. It was peaceful here, and the slightly cool breeze blowing across the open space lulled her to lie down, crossing her arms behind her head and closing her eyes with a smile.

She had been so focused on exploring this strange world that she hadn't even had the chance to check up on the outside and make sure that Rito was doing alright. Hopefully he was safe now, as in here, she couldn't tell when something new happened. Maybe something had broken somewhere, or maybe a new glass tree had sprouted. It wasn't up to her to fix the things happening in the present.

Yeah, why worry so much? This was a more tranquil place than any she'd ever been to before, and with no conflict and no people besides her, she found herself slowly drifting to sleep. Strange, sleeping inside her own mind. She had never been able to do that back when she was with Mea.

~~~At the Yuuki Household~~~

"P-Pleash shtap…" Rito slurred, raising his hands in an effort to push Momo and Lala apart as they both held a chunk of food in front of his face, staring at each other as they sat to either side of him, having forced Mikan out of her normal seat and putting her next to Celine at the bar, while Nana sat next to her, quietly picking at her food and trying to ignore the chaos going on behind her.

Saruyama and Haruna were both there as well, seated opposite the two warring sistens and Rito as Saruyama laughed, pointing his chopsticks, with nothing on them, at him.

"You two, stop bothering him. He can't chew anyway, so you're just being cruel." As per the doctor's orders, Mikan had specially prepared a broth for Rito, rather than the karaage the rest had, and the two princesses stared at him, apparently both realizing the mistake.

Momo lowered hers back to her own plate, frowning. "Sorry, Rito-san, I wasn't thinking-"

She was quickly interrupted by Lala's naturally loud voice as she laughed, eating the bite she'd had and grinning. "Sorry, Rito! I'll save some for when you can eat, then I'll feed it to you!"

"You're not wasting food just because you want to help!" Mikan called in annoyance, turning to the group while Haruna raised her hands defensively, closed eyes and pensive laugh signalling her discomfort with the situation.

"You don't need to fight, Yuuki-kun will be fine. Right?" she asked, looking at the boy, who nodded.

"Thank you." His voice was still inaccurate and hard to understand from the swelling, but at least he was able to speak again.

 _Everyone's being so nice to you._ he thought to himself, smiling both in response to Haruna's concern and his own thoughts. _It's too bad they're only like this when you're injured._

Inner Rito voicing his annoyance as always. He quickly pushed the thought out of mind and moved to eat.

This was the type of discord he preferred. Just people chattering with each other and arguing about things that didn't matter, and Haruna there to be the quiet voice of reason. Plus, as usual, he was the reason behind this collection of people being here. Exactly as he wanted it to be.

 _Yami didn't come to visit. You'd think she would care about your injury if she loves you so much._

The girl wasn't omnipotent, and she was bad with crowds anyway. Why would she have a reason to show up now?

 _Mea too. The last thing she said to you is that you're boring, and she hasn't shown up since. Aren't you concerned about being tossed aside so easily?_

Mea can do what she wants, she's free now. She doesn't have a master guiding her path.

 _Keep making excuses. Keep acting like you're happy with the way things are going. Keep surrounding yourself in these good feelings and kind people. Breaking your jaw wasn't enough to get you to see the truth, so have fun when you fall to your darkness._

He flinched, and Lala blinked, turning to look him in the eyes with an expression of concern. "Are you okay, Rito? Are we bothering you?"

He blinked, before smiling as best he could and shaking his head. "Jusht my jaw hutss. Don't worry."

"'Don't worry', he says, as he actually shows pain for once in his life!" Saruyama said, laughing and reaching to grab Haruna's shoulder and pull both of them to lean forward, his other hand pointing a finger at the boy. "We've known you longer than most of the people here, man. Don't try to fool us with that lie. This is the second time you've gotten injured in like 4 days."

Rito blinked, confused by the statement. "It...ish? When wash I before?"

~~~Nearby~~~

A sigh from the figure, dressed in their standard outfit as they sat atop the roof of the house, looking down though they couldn't see through the tiles. They could hear the conversations perfectly well, and as it was, it was clear that nobody inside suspected anything.

That wasn't supposed to happen. Saruyama at least was meant to recognize a deeper layer to the problem, but he had yet to even notice the inner conflict in his best friend. The fact the boy was now focusing more on his outer version's view after the incident was worrying. Had something happened to strengthen the grip the shell had on him?

They needed to take drastic measures now. If things continued on like this, then he could very well self destruct before Nemesis realized what she needed to do. Time was shorter than these people realized, and only one person knew just how valuable every hour was.

They stood up, letting their hair sink back to its braid and looking up at the moonlit sky. She knew that she couldn't keep what she knew a secret forever. It was time to tell Yami everything that she had seen.

"Don't collapse to your darkness just yet, I'm still here to protect you. Hold on, Rito-senpai."


	34. Answers

**We're rapidly approaching the end of Act II! I predicted 10 chapters (excluding the anniversary chapter) before, and it seems we will be getting almost exactly that, as I predict just 3-4 remaining! Here's hoping things go well for Rito!**

* * *

Yami sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers as she sat down heavily in the pilot's chair, ignoring the flashing lights that frequently went off to signal some system or another running smoothly. It was a nuisance, the computer could do everything on its own, so what was the point in distracting her with warning lights that meant nothing?

She'd turned Luna's voice back on, but the AI hadn't said anything yet, having nothing to report that the annoying lights didn't already say. Knowing she had some respite from its chatter, the girl fully intended on staying the remainder of the night on board, the protective glass serving as the cross-shaped viewing panel of the ship now displaying the light levels on the surface. It would be too much if she had to constantly see the sun rise and fall every twenty minutes or so.

"Yami-san." came the computer's voice, and she groaned, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes?" she asked, a tired tone in her voice. "I'm tired, so please hurry."

"There is someone requesting to speak from another surveillance ship. She claims to be another Trans."

Yami jolted in her seat, narrowing her eyes and sitting up. "Mea? How did she even know where you were located?" The _Lunatique_ was black and designed to dodge radar, how did it get detected so easily? She had never even seen Mea's own vessel, but surely it wasn't that much more advanced. It had been a while since she had to do anything captain-like, but she settled down where she sat and leaned over to flip a switch and open the ship's communications. As a result, an icon popped up on the glass screen, an automatically generated image of the other Trans' face, and she reached to press on it, a window appearing that revealed Mea, sitting in much the same position that the elder girl was in, a smile playing on her face as always.

"Hello, Ko-" Before Mea could say anything, Yami leaned back, crossing her arms and glaring at her counterpart.

"You've been annoying me for the last few days, Mea." Yami said coldly, a frown punctuating her words. "First, you completely ignore my request when we met again after the incident, and then you bring Nemesis into Rito's home without warning me first. What do you want this-"

"I'm not here to talk to you, Yami-oneechan." the magenta-haired girl said, causing Yami to go silent, confused by the statement and the unusually grim expression that crossed Mea's face as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her knuckles. "I wanted to discuss something important about Rito-senpai with his would-be assassin, Konjiki no Yami."

Surprised by the use of her old name, Yami sat up straight again, blinking a few times and crossing her arms. "You're acting unusually negative. What are you up to now?"

"I was hoping that you or someone else would notice before now, but Nemesis is moving too slowly, so I decided that I had to tell you about what I saw in Rito-senpai's mind."

"What do you mean? He isn't like us, there wouldn't be-"

"There's still a darkness in him, just like you or me, or Neme-chan. It's not something rare, and everyone that I've Dived into has something similar, but for him, it's a lot worse. It's hard to explain to someone who has no capacity to see into the minds of others, but essentially, it is the same as your Darkness program. A glitch, something that normally would mean nothing but that might trigger under the right conditions."

"Are you saying that Rito is a time bomb? I know that he's changed, but he hasn't become a worse person for it!" Yami's fingers were turning white from the pressure she was exerting on the chair's armrests, but she didn't care, frustrated at Mea's calculated words.

"I didn't know that you started using his given name instead of his full." The girl cracked a smile, which quickly fell. "I never said that he's a bad person. If anything, he's the one fighting the most to keep himself stable. Unlike you, I don't have to visually see in order to track someone. I can just sit aside and let my nanobots do the work for me. It's a skill that I've honed for years."

"So the first time you bother acting like a proper assassin since coming to this planet is to spy on him?" Yami asked, instinctively standing up and pushing her seat back with her thighs to lean over the console, face close to the screen as she glared forward.

"I haven't gone soft yet, unlike you." the other girl replied, her expression not changing. "Sit back, you're not in frame anymore. "I'll put it this way. The Rito-senpai that we see every day is a version that I'll call the Outer Rito. That's the one who forgives everyone, who is off-balance and clumsy, and who appreciates everyone that's around him. But, underneath that version…"

"...Is everything that he keeps hidden." Yami finished, and Mea nodded solemnly. "So, you're telling me that this...inner version of him is that 'darkness'?"

"Yes. It wasn't a problem until your Darkness triggered, but something must have happened during that battle that caused his own inner self to start welling up. I'm not saying that it was your fault, but the timing is too perfect to say that Trance wasn't involved somehow. Maybe it was me or Neme-chan as well, the point is, something did it and it's not going to stop the same way it started."

"So, what are you telling this to me for? I have no idea how to help with something like that, so are you just trying to make me worry about him? You know that I've already confessed to him and left him to his own devices, so I can't just start talking about knowing things I shouldn't without explanation."

The girl's frown was replaced with a mischievous smile, and she waggled a finger in front of her, tsking a few times. "I'm not here to criticize your romantic decisions, but I doubt that me saying all this is going to make you worry any more than you already do. I don't need to be there physically to know that you're not going to be happy with your current purgatory as you think. I'm not the type of person to insult you like that, Yami-oneechan." Back to the serious face, almost unnatural given her normal personality. How often did she ever show off such an expression? It was as rare for her as it was for Rito. "I didn't just come to reveal secrets like that, I also have news that you might not have heard about him, involving a certain princess…"

~~~On Earth~~

It was long past midnight now, but Rito was still awake, standing alone at the kitchen bar with one of Mikan's aprons on, keeping his pajamas clean as he worked on the taiyaki ingredients strewn across the small kitchen. With Haruna insisting earlier that day that he focus on recovery rather than his upcoming job, he still had time to sit around the house doing nothing. It was Saturday, and Saruyama had confirmed that his injury meant the boy's day was postponed for celebrating his getting back to normal, so he really should be sleeping now, but he found himself unable to fully nod off, despite having sat in bed staring at his ceiling for hours.

So, he found himself making the only food he knew how, and as he prepared the red bean paste, he hummed to himself, the action not hurting his injured jaw as much as talking did.

Yami hadn't appeared the night before as she usually did. It was common for her not to show up for several days in a row, but the timing was odd after she had been still at the house that same morning and then confessed at school. He frowned, looking down as he kneaded the paste to fit into the molds already formed in front of him.

Yami was a complicated person, and their relationship was among the stranger ones in the group. It had its ups and downs, and given her role outside Earth, she had dragged everyone into events unnecessarily dangerous for the peaceful lifestyle they had gotten used to. However, that said, the inclusion of the other, now familiar Trans had also allowed him to get to know her better, and he was genuinely proud to be among the handful of people who knew her real name and history before Tearju had actually appeared.

Even after actually meeting the genetic researcher, it still felt like he had a special softness for Yami, knowing the full story before anyone else, and he would take it to heart. Telling him that back then was no doubt the most difficult thing she'd ever done, above any target she'd killed or annoying people she met.

He had been selfish to not give her an answer immediately when she kissed him. He wasn't even considering at the time about the things she'd already told him, and that he had accepted wholeheartedly without a second thought. For her, she had made a much harder decision than it felt like at the time, with her smooth execution and quick escape. That had not been a snap decision, she had been working towards it for who knew how long now.

He nodded to himself as he began closing up the pastries, setting them in a bowl to cool overnight and washing his hands off, a frown on his face.

 _I'm so dense. Are you going to make a joke about my stupidity, Nemesis?_

No response, and he sighed, shaking his head. _Well, I figured it out now. Took me almost two years, but I'll stop running away from her. I'll give a proper answer. Whatever it might be._

He flinched at the sound of glass cracking, looking to the source of the noise to find that he'd bumped into a dirty cup next to the sink. _I'm really out of it today. I need to rest…_


	35. Shatter

**So, just like last year, I've got a big storm coming my way in Hurricane Dorian. I'm not anywhere near the major hurricane zone, but I'll still be getting Cat 2 winds possibly. If you recall, last year I was involved in Hurricane Florence, and like then, I'll probably not be posting until afterwards due to work and preparation. Good luck to anyone who is in an even worse situation!**

* * *

The next morning, things were back to normal as the world went on despite Rito's injury, which he fought through to quickly eat a similar broth to the night before that Mikan had made specially for him. His sister had already left, her school starting earlier than Sainan High and requiring her to be gone half an hour before, but she had given instructions to the other residents on what to do, along with an apology for not being able to stay behind and help out.

Now that he was finished, Rito sighed, setting his bowl in the kitchen sink and heading back to his room, slowly moving up the stairs to prevent a repeat of two days before, to get his school supplies from his room.

 _ **Did I miss anything?**_ came Nemesis' voice from inside his head, and he jolted, briefly confused before remembering that she was present and shaking his head in response as he grabbed his backpack to set it over his shoulder.

 _I noticed you weren't around, what were you doing?_

 _ **Sleeping. Everyone needs to rest, you know? Sorry for getting you into this mess, it may or may not have been my fault for messing around in your head.**_

Huh, so she did have periods of weakness. He couldn't actually recall ever seeing her tired before. _I'm doing fine now, and I kind of already guessed it was you. You were hiding because you thought you did something wrong, am I right?_

A brief pause, before a hollow laugh came from the girl. _**You've developed a sharper tongue since we last talked. I'm surprised that such a small change had an effect like that, but I suppose anyone would be cynical after getting kicked that hard. I'm not sure which version of you I prefer.**_

 _You're exaggerating, I haven't changed that much._ He was heading back downstairs now to check on Celine, as Mikan had asked that they take her today.

 _ **You're right,**_ **you** _ **haven't. But you're becoming more honest now, it's good. The you who lets everything slide has gotten stale. Maybe it's about time to start saying what's in your head.**_

His attention was broken by a happy "Mau!" as Lala walked out of Mikan's room, carrying Celine in her arms, and smiled at the boy.

"Ehehe, I got to her first. Is it fine if I carry her?" she asked, and Rito hummed, before nodding.

"Shurre, be carefful." He shook his head, running an arm across his mouth to clear the spittle that he'd accidentally produced from his slurring, while Lala tilted her head, laughing as she bounced Celine in her arms.

"Are you sure you can go to school? You should be staying at home and recovering."

He shook his head, waving a hand in front of him. "Ah'm finne...Jusht can't talk mucsh is all."

He was about to ask about her sisters, before Nana's yawn signalled her presence as she walked down the stairs, already dressed but with hair still wet from her shower as she looked at the two. "Yo." A single, tired word, and the bags under her eyes suggested she hadn't slept very well that night.

Lala grinned, and Celine waved to the small Devilukean. "Is Momo still getting ready?"

Nana blinked slowly, tilting her head. "She had to go early for cleaning duty since she skipped out yesterday. I thought she told you."

"Oh, okay!" A rapid change, characteristic of the eldest princess. "Well, let's go, then!"

Nana nodded, looking over at Rito, who turned to head out, before jolting, reaching to grab onto the frame of the door leading outside and another to his mouth, eyes wide as Lala stepped forward, holding her free hand out to him with an expression of concern on her face.

He waved her aside, forcing out a hoarse laugh as Nana watched from nearby. "It'sh fine, my jaww jusht-"

"Take your time." Nana said, frowning and moving to open the door. "I'm going ahead, you shouldn't go if you can't. Aneue…" She frowned, looking away from the two and down to the ground, her speech nearly inaudible. "Take care of him."

With that, she was gone, leaving her sister to tend to the boy as he stood up, a smile playing on his face as Celine reached to grab his nose when he looked in her direction.

~~~On the route~~~

The day was bright and calm, without a cloud in the sky in the continuing sunny spell of the last week or so, so it put Nana in a better mood as she walked, humming as her tail flicked in the air beside her, within her peripheral vision as she preferred keeping it. It had been a while since she went to school on her own, but it felt nice being away from her annoying twin. She needed time to be on herself, without someone talking over her thoughts and making assumptions with no basis.

She did feel guilty about causing what seemed to be the only actual injury Rito had ever received, but at the same time, it wasn't entirely her fault, was it? She'd done nothing differently than usual, it had just been a bad hit at a bad time. If anything, it was partly Rito to blame for failing to keep up his admittedly good efforts to stay on balance over the last month.

She had expected him to screw up at some point, but of course, just as she was starting to think he was really getting better, he had to choose then and there, when she was the only one around, to slip. Why should she be at fault when she was only retaliating instinctively?

 _He's been acting weird, though._ she found herself thinking, a deep frown on her face as she looked straight forward on the path. _He didn't even react when Saruyama mentioned his hand…_

Rito was well known for easily brushing off most problems put to him, but it was odd for him to act as if he didn't even remember that particular event. Normally, he would simply say he was fine and move on to some other topic, but that time, he had even directly said that he didn't remember hurting himself, even though the mirror in the bathroom still had not been replaced and his hand still was a little raw, though it didn't seem to bother him anymore.

"Nana." She jolted at the sounding of her name in a monotone voice from somewhere behind her, and when she turned around, she stepped back, confused by the all but silent arrival of Yami, who had landed on the sidewalk and dissipated her Trance wings.

The girl stood loosely, her legs relaxed and arms at her side, but despite her pose and the neutral expression on her face, Nana could see that her hands were outstretched, fingers in the spear shape she often used when about to use Trance. She was angry about something.

"Yami, you haven't shown up since-" The girl gulped instinctively at the glare she received, Yami taking a step towards her.

"I have a question to ask you. Please, don't say anything until I'm finished." She took a deep breath, before sighing. "I heard that Rito was seriously injured. Did you have anything to do with that?"

Nana's eyes widened, and she stepped back again, knowing just how dangerous Yami really could be. The look in her eyes told the girl that Yami already knew the answer, and she had to think fast to maximize her chances. "He's healing now, it wasn't as bad as it sounded!"

"That wasn't a negative." A simple statement, and once again, her voice contained no hint of emotional response, like she was speaking as a robot rather than a person. "Did you, or did you not, cause Rito be hospitalized?"

Nana grit her teeth, this time choosing to step forward and stand her ground, hands balling to fists in defiance. "He lost his balance and fell, I didn't cause anything. You're mistaken."

"Answer clearly. Rito has never before injured himself to that extent, and you are the one who most commonly hurts him, other than me. And I have chosen to stop."

"'Rito'...Yami, you really fell for him now, didn't you? You wouldn't have reacted like this if it was a month ago."

With the raising of several strands of hair that had already formed her characteristic silver blades, Yami's stance changed. Gone was the relaxed pose, now she crouched low, her arm changing shape as she held it outstretched.

"H-Hey, he's fine, it's not worth fighting over! I didn't mean that, I know you were planning that for a long time!" Nana said, holding her hands out and glancing behind her to judge the chances of running away, or at the very least, getting into the air to fly, not that she was confident she could outrun the Trans in the air.

"There's a saying that I learned recently. 'An eye for an eye'. I'm not letting you get away with an apology."

Nana wanted to run now, but she felt her feet freeze, staring at the blonde alien as she heard a voice in her head, one that was distinctly not her own conscience...and felt very familiar.

" _Sorry, but we're both more interested in Rito than you. You'll have to take the brunt of Darkness' fury for now."_

Her mouth opened, unable to form words out of surprise at the statement. This Yami...she looked just like she always did, but would she really trigger Darkness at something as small as this?

"M-Mea, what…"

" _This isn't about you, actually. You're just a necessary sacrifice so that Rito can be protected. I'm sorry to betray you again, but this is something I have to do."_

Somehow, Nana wasn't surprised by this. Mea had a reputation already for her two-faced nature, so if this was how it had to be, she was less distraught over her friend turning sides again and more confused, unable to figure out what motivation she could have. Why support Yami instead of Rito himself if that was what she was after? Did Yami even have the ability to trigger Darkness on command like that?

...Of course she did. Given how she had been acting over the last several days and her odd relaxation, it was similar to how she'd been a month before...except now, she wasn't focused on anything ecchi.

This Darkness wanted blood.


	36. Slice

**Dorian turned out to be nothing special for me, I could have written earlier, but I procrastinated pretty badly and it's taken forever to get this out. It'll be a long one in exchange, and I hope it's exciting!**

* * *

There had been no transformation sequence this time, no costume swap or change in expression, nothing to suggest that Yami was anything but her usual self. Was this really Darkness again, after such little time since the last battle?

Nana was known for being physical, but she wasn't completely stupid. She was well aware just how big a gap in power the two had, and last time they faced off, there was much more backup on her side that allowed her to take a side role. But now, there was no Lala, no Momo, and Mea was once again on the side of the aggressor. Darkness wasn't distracted by contrived fantasies about Rito either as now, she was exclusively directing her anger towards the princess, who without the added help was the least capable of the sisters in combat.

She glanced down at her shirt pocket, where her D-Dial was stored, and spent a moment debating what to do in the time before Darkness decided to attack. Could she summon something to help? She didn't have Lala's tools or Momo's plants, which both proved useful the last time, and she needed distance to effectively use Cloud-on's electricity without risking hitting herself in the process, not that that was more than an annoyance to the other Darkness anyway.

Gama-tan? The giant toad had been Yami's rival in the past, and he was immune to her blades normally with his mucus-coated skin, but she had no idea how that could handle against Darkness' special Trance. Meda-Q? No, it was still a child and likely didn't have the shell strength to withstand much of anything.

She wouldn't be able to effectively use any of the animals she'd collected over the years, not without potentially hurting them too. It seemed she really couldn't do anything but depend on her own Devilukean strength, as much as that might help.

Stall for as long as possible, until help could arrive. Lala was coming soon, so if she could manage until then, the oldest princess could think of something.

With that in mind, she frowned, looking back at Darkness and raising her tail over her shoulder, the spade pointing forward as she steeled her nerves. "I don't want to fight you again, Yami. You're under Darkness again, right? Remember last time?"

While Darkness' expression didn't change, the blades of her hair squirmed in the air, itching to land a hit on anything nearby. "Yes, I remember that Rito saved me from myself. I still haven't been able to truly repay him for what he did for me, and you're standing in the way. I would stop without killing you, but you have no regret for hurting him."

"How is that going to help him?!" Nana asked, her voice raised from her nerves lighting up. "Don't you think vengeance is just going to hurt him more?"

She jolted as the blonde attacked, the ground below her feet caving under the force of her kicking down to launch herself forward, and not for the first time, Nana had to thank her reflexes as she twisted to the side to avoid the blades entering the space where she had been.

Darkness drove her foot into the ground to stop her momentum, turning back to where Nana had landed. "No one can heal if the things that hurt them are still there!" she shouted, letting the momentum that still affected her hair send several strands whipping to the side, stretching to reach the girl as she jumped again, this time up and backwards to land on a concrete divider next to the sidewalk.

Nana just barely moved her tail out of the way of one of the blades, glancing at it to make sure she was still pointing the spade forward before looking at her opponent again. "The city's still repairing after the last time, you don't need to go that far!" She had her own life to protect as well, and she really didn't want to have to use the laser beam her tail was capable of generating, not when they were in the middle of a populated area.

A wordless shout was her response as Darkness moved forward again, driving her blades into the divider before looking up as Nana jumped over her. The Trans lifted her arm, not wasting time separating her hair blades from the concrete as the arm shifted to her most frequently used blade in an upward jab, which clipped the princess' shoe and sent her into a frontflip as she landed on the street, turning around in time to find a barrage of hair fists that forced her to raise her arms in front of her, digging her heels into the asphalt to keep steady.

She flinched as she felt the wind from one of the strikes passing by her tail, twirling it in the air to move it back behind her shoulder. It was a glaring weak point and she knew it, but she needed the bargaining chip to hopefully prevent the angered girl from launching anything too dangerous. Even Darkness surely couldn't take a hit from the beam at such close range with no repercussions.

Although, that thought was another reason she hesitated to use it. She didn't want to hurt Yami any more than she wanted to be struck by one of the assassin's deadly attacks, and if she used it and missed, she wouldn't be able to go back to the defensive without suffering whatever Darkness might throw at her then. Either way, using it was her last resort. "Did Mea put you up to this? Darkness is clouding your judgement, have you even seen Rito since you confessed to him?!" she shouted over the sound, gritting her teeth at the pain in her arms from being repeatedly punched. She couldn't hold this position long either.

"This is my choice, Mea has nothing to do with it!" Darkness yelled back, and between her hair's strikes, she raised her transformed arm to slash downward, forcing Nana to jump back again. "I don't care if I'm under Darkness' influence or not, I'm going to destroy you!"

"That's not what you said before!" Had she intentionally ignored the comment on Rito? "Weren't you wanting to help him?"

" _You're only making her angrier, and the worse she gets, the deeper into it she'll go."_ Mea's voice said in a singsong tone, as if she had no concern about this situation that she had caused. " _You remember what happened last time, right? The only way she was able to return to normal was for Rito-senpai to give her exactly what she was after. She wanted ecchi back then, I wonder what her goal is now?"_

"Mea, you bastard, you know that no matter what happens, it'll hurt him more." Her voice was low as she focused on dodging Darkness' strikes, jumping between the street, sidewalk, and dividers, but the ground was already pocked with craters formed by the Trans' repeated efforts, meaning that she would have to start moving down the street to avoid the fight spreading into any houses nearby. "I'm not about to die either, this is pointless! She's clearly not in her right mind, I can dodge weak hits like this all day!"

It was true, Darkness seemed to be using mostly her typical barrage, reserved for whenever Rito did something to annoy her. Something like this was easy for her to handle, even with the soreness in her arms from taking the brunt of those fists, and she had plenty of time before her charges to scan the environment and pick the next place to jump to.

Mea's laugh rang clearly in her head. " _Don't worry, I've been Psycho Diving into her as well. She's really been insulting me for holding her back, but I didn't want to have a repeat of last time. Although, now that I think about it...I don't think we have to worry about Planet Slicer. I'm not going to risk killing Rito-senpai too, but if it's like this, then she's still perfectly capable of handling just one person."_

With that, she went silent again, and Nana blinked, before her eyes widened as, with barely enough time for her to land on her next jumping-off spot, Darkness had leapt into the air, her hair transforming back to normal as she folded her legs close to her body to spin forward.

As she fell, she extended her legs once again, but this time, rather than a blade, she had opted for a spiked ball shaped from her feet, the added mass sending her plummeting down towards the girl, who just barely dodged to the side.

She shouted as she felt her foot twist when it landed in one of the craters formed before, sending her hitting the ground hard on her stomach and knocking the wind out of her and briefly immobilizing her.

She turned her head to look up at Darkness, who raised her arm once again, though this time, she didn't seem to be aiming downward, instead focusing on a horizontal slash. WHat was she…

Nana jolted, forcing herself to roll to her side just in time for the strike to take place, and a purple hole formed in the air above where she'd been, driving the blade into the road and causing her to shout in pain as she felt it nicking her spade.

Her tail instinctively curled upwards from the pain of the small cut, amplified by the large number of nerves present in her tail, and she could feel it tugging at the base where it attached to her body, as if it was trying to escape without her command.

She'd forgotten about Darkness' ability to conjure wormholes, and it had been very close to getting her killed. Gritting her teeth and with one eye closed to fight back the pain, she directed the tail upwards at the girl, narrowing her open eye as she frowned.

That was a blunder she shouldn't have made, and the memory of the first time Darkness had happened reminded her that this was truly not the same meek Yami that normally was around. This was a cold blooded and lethal assassin, capable of destroying planets if she wanted to. Why did she think her laser beam would be enough to kill her?

With that in mind, she bit her lip to ignore the additional pain from the energy building up in the tip of her tail, before shouting as a pink beam blasted from the end, pushing it back from the recoil but still managing to fire forward, directly at the silent Trans.

She grinned, coughing from the dust cloud as she used the momentary distraction to struggle to sit up, glancing at her tail to judge the damage.

The cut wasn't that deep, and probably would heal in minutes, but a few of the vertebrae were bent oddly, having been smashed into the ground at an odd angle from her own attack. Adrenaline was helping her to ignore it for now, but it would certainly hurt later.

For now, how had she done? Did she manage to drive Darkness back? It looked hopeful, so she scrambled to her feet. She had her balance back and the motivation to fight seriously, so surely she could-

Before she could do more than push herself up to a squat, something slammed into her chest, sending her flying backwards and clipping the curb, sending her flipping over, but this time, she wasn't able to land on the ground again as she felt her arm grabbed, pulling her up to push her against the broken divider as she looked forward to find out what was happening.

The dust had settled, and Darkness had escaped completely unscathed, glaring at her as she was pinned to the wall, before she cried out as the Trans sprouted wings to pull her upwards, dragging her back along the concrete and shredding her uniform shirt, er tail hanging limply between her legs.

"I had forgotten how dangerous a Devilukean's tail can be." Darkness mused, looking her over. "It's a good thing you were aiming skyward, or you would have caused a lot more damage than I have. Still, without it, you're nothing but weak."

Once again, she raised her arm, aiming it for another slash next to her, and Nana flinched, unsure where the wormhole was going to appear, before she heard her name called, and she found herself freed from the girl's grasp, collapsing onto her chest and knees on the sidewalk as another beam fired from down the street.

Darkness had let go and flown backwards to dodge the ambush, glancing at the path it took as it cut through the rest of the divider and the power lines along that side of the road, before turning to face the source as she lowered back down to the ground, her arm still raised.

"Princess Momo." she stated calmly, facing the girl as she floated in the air, panting from the effort of flying there so quickly and the energy expended in the attack she'd just pulled.

"Yami-san, what are you doing? Why is Nana…" Her face was a mixture of exhaustion, confusion, and anger, an expression she rarely showed . "What is happening here?"

Darkness knelt down, and Nana groaned again as her tail was grabbed, shivering as she found herself paralyzed, whether from the pressure put on her weak point, Mea's freezing her muscles, or both. "Don't get in the way, or I'll kill you too. This has nothing to do with you." She grinned, tugging her hand up to pull Nana's tail taut in front of her. "It's been so long since I actually saw blood...Mea was right, I've lost my touch. Don't get in my way, alright, Princess? I'd rather my first kill in a while be uninterrupted."

In response, Momo flew forward, aiming her tail again to stop the Trans, before she stopped in the air again, staring in shock as Darkness delivered one more slash.

It wasn't aimed at her, nor was it particularly strong. There was no over the top golden energy, no monologue, nothing to indicate that it was any different from any other attack she'd performed.

But, as Nana's eyes rolled back and she slumped onto the ground, and Darkness stood up to face the girl, she grinned, a mad expression as she raised her hand to show off her prize.

Her grip had dislocated several more bones in the appendage, leaving it to squirm uncontrolled, before letting it go, allowing it to fall to the ground in front of the unresponsive girl.


	37. Assassin

Darkness shifted her stance to face the second Devilukean, arms outstretched to either side as she gave a wide grin, a crazy-eyed expression playing on her face while around her, her hair blades flicked in the air, waiting for her command to deliver the finishing blow to the unconscious Nana. "I don't think I've ever seen any of you bleed before, it's very cathartic to realize you're as mortal as anyone else. Are you going to stand in my way too? I'm only interested in her, the rest of you are just extras."

Momo glared at her as she landed on the ground, disabling her wings and taking out her own D-Dial, though she never looked away from the Trans. "What did you do? Why is Nana-" She frowned, reaching her hand out to catch the small, brown seeds that came into existence in the air thanks to the D-Dial's summoning capability. "You aren't Yami right now, aren't you? Nana alerted me with her laser, but I didn't see anything else. Are you actually controlling Darkness?"

Darkness sighed, bringing her hands in to wrap her arms together and shake her upper body with an annoyed sigh. "Darkness this, Darkness that, who cares if that's the case?" She separated her arms again, setting a hand on her chest and leaning forward. "It's all a part of me anyway."

Momo stepped back, gritting her teeth and raising the hand full of seeds. "Get away from Nana, why are you so focused on her? Last time, it was Rito-san, so why is it different?" Her eyes widened, before narrowing again. "You...you're not getting revenge for her hurting him, are you? He said himself that it was just an accident!"

Darkness frowned, tilting her head. "Rito? Don't try to distract me with things that don't matter. Rito isn't here, and he isn't in my way. All that matters is that I'm not letting her leave alive."

Momo stared forward, hand shaking as she processed the information. "Rito-san wouldn't want you to kill anyone, you know that! You'll just make everything worse if you-"

"Quiet." Darkness stated, her eye twitching in irritation. "I've already let myself go, I can't stop halfway. I'll do what I have to."

Shaking her head, Momo steeled her resolve, narrowing her eyes to focus on the situation at hand. "I'll stop you before you do something you really can't come back from."

Tails could be reattached, maybe, but Nana's life couldn't. They may fight frequently, but that didn't mean she wanted something like this to happen to her sister.

With that, she shouted, stepping forward to fling her arm out in a baseball pitch to toss the seeds forward. "Dazuul Seeds!"

Momo hadn't had to use her plants as weapons very often, but she still understood the capabilities of each and every one, and knowing that the vines that grew from these were capable of restricting Mea's movement, it surely had to do something against Darkness, at least keeping her still long enough to get to Nana safely.

At least, that's what she banked on as she rushed forward while the seeds were still in midair, dodging the Trance blades that shot in her direction as soon as she launched her attack. Like Nana, she was light on her feet, her eyes moving from side to side as she scanned her environment for places to kick off of and flip in the air to avoid getting hit by the deadly blades. She had no idea what had happened before getting here, so she couldn't assume she could take even a single hit, or she might end up just like Nana did, and if she was defeated too, then there was no guarantee that anyone else would be there to help in time.

The seeds exploded as they came into contact with Darkness' hair tendrils, releasing vines that quickly extended along the length towards her as her eyes narrowed, the speed at which the plants grew forcing her to jump up into the air, shrinking her hair in an effort to avoid the vines growing any closer to her, though they stayed attached, dragged forward by her Trance pulling away.

She growled in frustration, black wings forming on her back to keep her afloat as she looked down, where Momo had successfully reached Nana, kneeling to pull her arm over her shoulder and check her sister's pulse.

"Nana, are you awake?" Momo asked, but with no response, she shook her head, glancing down at the severed tail on the ground. Was it worth grabbing and wasting the extra seconds?

"This isn't a two on one fight, remember." came Mea's voice, physically present rather than using her Psycho Dive, and Momo's eyes widened as the vines that had been nearing Darkness stopped their growth, vibrating in the air before crashing down to the road and withering on the broken asphalt, heated by the numerous its it had sustained.

"Mea?!" Momo called, looking around for a sign of the other Trans, catching a glimpse of the girl sitting in a relaxed pose on a nearby roof, unaffected by Darkness' repeated blade storms and the two laser shots that had been fired.

The girl had a hand raised as if she had been holding something and tossed it aside, and Momo jolted as she felt her leg freeze up, looking down to find that another of the Dazuul Seeds had landed next to her, pinning her ankle and rapidly coiling around her leg as the second Trans laughed, standing up to jump from the roof and onto what remained of the divider.

"What is this? You're Nana's friend, why are you-" Momo asked, but went quiet as Mea's braid raised in the air, twirling into her favored single blade as Darkness hovered in the air, staring down at the trio in silence.

"I'm doing this to help Rito-senpai. Exploiting Yami-oneesan's 'glitch', targeting someone she doesn't know very well...I'm an assassin, and unlike her, I've lived a life of deception. Manipulating people is what I do best, even if it means betraying what few positive relationships I've built." SHe sighed, reaching to hold her forehead in her palm and staring at the ground. "I've always lived under Nemesis' guidance, maybe some of her domineering nature's rubbed off on me. But, this is not meant to actually kill anyone. I can't stand the idea of falling that far, this was only meant to go on until Rito-senpai himself gets here."

Momo stared forward, eyes shaking in confusion as the vine continued to grow, before she looked tro her shoulder, where Nana started stirring back to consciousness.

"Wh-What…" the second princess asked, looking around with half-lidded eyes before groaning, the couple inches of tail still attached to her body flicking in the air haphazardly, ignoring any command from her to keep still. "Ow...Momo, what are you doing here…?"

"Nana! What happened here, why did Darkness trigger like this?" she asked, and the girl shook her head, looking at Mea, who frowned as they made eye contact.

"Mea...Darkness isn't interested in Rito, is he?" she asked through several deep breaths, groaning every so often from the pain of her various injuries. "You said you wanted to help him, but she's just rampaging recklessly. She ignored me when I asked about him…"

Mea's braid returned to normal as she laced her fingers behind her back. "I know what I'm doing. Sorry for using you, but if it was anyone else who broke his jaw, then I'd use them instead. I didn't want to involve you either, but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, don't worry! I'm not going to let you die here, you'll get out and get healed once Rito-senpai arrives. I'll explain things better then-"

She was cut off by the divider disintegrating below her, and instinctively, she jumped back onto the roof, staring at Darkness, who had performed her wormhole tactic again and driven her arm blade into the concrete while she was distracted. Now, an aura seemed to have formed around her, her irises shrunken as she stared down at her ally.

"You're trying to let her escape too?" she asked, bringing her arm back out of the portal but keeping the blade formed and ready for another strike. "I said that anyone who got in my way would be destroyed too. Are you betraying me?"

~~~With Rito and Lala~~~

The light from the two lasers was easy to spot, and by now, Rito and Lala were in as fast a run as they could without risking Rito's jaw pain flaring up again or Celine falling from Lala's arms. Nana tended to be violent, but using that tail beam was something she almost never used, so whatever had caused it couldn't be good, and it was directly on the path to school, so it definitely was created by her, who had gone ahead of them.

"Can't we teleport?" Rito asked, talking while still looking forward as Lala negated the suggestion.

"I was upgrading Pyon Pyon Warp-kun, I didn't have time to finish it before we had to go!" she replied, letting Celine run her fingers through her hair as the child cooed, excited by the speed they were moving. "Can you get my D-Dial? I can't reach it and hold Celine too!"

"I can't dig in your shirt!" he responded, before stopping in his tracks at an intersection they were meant to turn at, staring forward as she stopped next to him, confused.

"Why did you stop, we're almost-" She too now looked in the direction he faced, her eyes going wide and mouth dropping at the sight.

The entire street was destroyed, pocked with craters and chunks of trees and houses that had been wrecked, like a typhoon had gone off in just this localized area.

They walked down what was left of the sidewalk, looking around at the people who had left their houses to investigate what had happened. No one seemed to be injured, but several yards were ruined, gutters torn off and rooves missing shingles. A disaster zone for sure, and one that lead right up to the worst sight, the clear indicator of what had caused this.

Despite looking the same as usual, Rito could immediately tell that this was not the normal Yami, as even if the destruction around them didn't tip it off, the look in her eyes did as she stood still in the middle of what was once the road, facing Mea, who was defending the twins as Momo dragged Nana away from the scene, though both looked exhausted, like they'd been fighting for a while even though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

" _ **This...I expected something to give eventually, but Konjiki no Yami...I expected her to be more level-headed than this. What has been happening while I was resting?"**_

None of them seemed to notice their arrival, and Rito grit his teeth, feeling his hands ball up as he heard Nemesis' commentary, turning to Lala, who jolted at the expression on his face.

" _ **Hmm? Well, look at you. Humans are simpler than I thought, if seeing something traumatic is enough to get you to let loose."**_

For once, Rito was not smiling. Even the first time Darkness had descended, he'd made some effort to keep a straight face and let Outer Rito do the talking, but right now, his inner self was in full force as he spoke to the eldest princess.

"Get out of here with Celine." he said, not giving her a chance to speak. "You're faster than me, and you can fly, and I'm the only one who's handled Darkness directly before. Mikado-sensei cn take care of her, and you can come back and help then."

"But, what will you do? You're already hurt, and you're not a fighter. I can try to fly both of us, if would be tiring, but-"

"I'm not going to get involved, I just need to watch and make sure nobody's too hurt. Just get out of here before Darkness notices you too."

"But-"

" _ **Princess. If anything goes wrong, I can defend him too. I may not be as proficient as either of them, but I can still defend one lone human. Plus, you should trust Mea's strength. Your sisters will be alright, and don't you remember how wrong everything goes when you try to get involved?"**_

With that, Lala blinked, before her wings unfolded from the chip on her shirt, hardening her gaze and nodding. "R-Right. Don't do anything reckless."

Rito laughed, waving to her as she kicked off to the air. "I can say the same to you. Hurry up, or it might be over before you return."

With that, she smiled, turning to fly away as she held Celine close to her chest, the plant girl completely oblivious to the situation as she held her little hands out, happily enjoying the speedy flight away from the scene.

Meanwhile, Rito turned back, frowning as he exhaled deeply. "Nemesis, you can't really defend me, can you?" he asked. "You need other people to Body Jack, and there's nobody else around."

A chuckle reverberated in his head. " _ **Sometimes, it is best to lie. You did too, didn't you? Claiming you were just going to stand still...I can see everything you're thinking, remember? Your blood is boiling, there's rage welling up within you. Are you going to go all out against someone you love as dearly as Yami?"**_

His fists tightened, before relaxing as he smiled, and she hummed in response as he replied. "No, I'm not going to hurt anyone. But, I'm not letting anyone be hurt, either. I'll resolve this without any more bloodshed."

"' _ **Yuuki-kun! Why is it always you?'"**_ Nemesis recited, and he jolted, confused by the statement. "' _ **I've always known you were a beast, but this is ridiculous. Really, I don't know why no one's gotten rid of you yet.' Your dreams are pretty dark, aren't they?"**_

 _Dreams…?_ His eyes widened as he remembered the events that had actually set in motion this strange separation between his two halves.

" _ **Nightmares and dreams are just part of your own mental processes, the chaos within them reflects your own views. You're already learning to let out your inner self, so why not utilize the fuel your mind has given you? I saw into that dream, it seems to me that you really aren't as changed as I thought. So, do what you did back when I first started playing around with you. Do as you wish, don't worry about the world around you. Allow your own Darkness to decide your actions."**_

He'd forgotten about that nightmare, but now, he could recall it clearly, staring forward as he swallowed, remembering the way it ended.

It had been Yami at the end then too, the final person he saw before waking up. Had he really considered her so special since then without realizing it? Maybe he'd decided earlier than he thought he did to give her an answer after all.

His fists closed again, but rather than intending to join the fray, this was to steel his nerves as he began to walk forward.


	38. Crackle

**This is the last chapter of Act II! I hope it does well finishing things off until Act III begins! Not much to say other than that.**

* * *

~~~Inside Rito's mind~~~

Normally, the crystal forest remained stagnant, only ever altered by the slow creep outwards or by Nemesis' path as she walked through it, but after seeing the battle going on outside, Rito's inner self had reacted, and now, the ground was in disarray. While the crystal held strong, it still bucked like an earthquake was going on below the girl's feet, and she had to hold on to branches and tufts of sharp grass to stay standing.

It was a bizarre sight after spending days now watching the sameness, but to her, it meant some sort of progress, and she smiled to herself as she avoided lacrima pellets kicked up by the changing landscape. This was the first major upheaval she had seen, and the weakened ground allowed her an opportunity to more deeply look into the boy's memories, now practically transparent against the dark soil below.

For the most part, they were relatively normal, interactions with his friends and family stretching from the present moment to several years in the past, and though she didn't actively look for anything in particular, she had discovered some interesting results of more minor meddling.

It seemed that when she broke off a piece, it would dissipate, and the memory attached would vanish as well, becoming inaccessible even to her. That explained what happened with that larger shard she'd accidentally broken before, which must have been the memory of what caused the injury to his hand, though she didn't know the context aside from his childhood friend's attempt at an explanation, though clearly, the monkey boy knew little about the situation himself.

As she wandered deeper into the forest towards where she estimated the center to be, the shifting ground began to calm, though on the boundary between the weakened regions and the stronger, thicker crystal, there were cracks beginning to form, digging downwards into the dirt and numerous enough that she had to tread carefully before getting past the obstacles. The content of the memories didn't seem to affect exactly where those boundary lines were, so it seemed that whatever was happening had occurred all at once, from the outside inward.

In a spot that wasn't vibrating too violently, she found another of the larger shards that dotted the landscape, jutting from the ground almost to her own height, and she held her hand to it, letting it react with her Trance to show her what memories were stored inside it.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight, briefly confused by the short perspective before recognizing that the boy seemed to be cowering in a corner, in a location too dark and featureless to recognize. The sounds of people jeering were deafening, and based on the surroundings, this must have been a dream, rather than reality. It was unusual to find anything so negative in Outer Rito's shell, so she pressed further, pushing her body against the mineral to read the scene as if she had been there herself.

Her eyes narrowed as she reflexively flinched from the wave of sheer terror emanating from him, and with them intertwined so closely, she felt the same fear, holding a hand to a wall she couldn't see as she knelt down, not wanting to face away from the little protection given from knowing there was some stable structure here, even one that she had no capacity to identify.

It was different from what she knew, a terror centered on the anger of others, but it still cut through the gloom, piercing her as if it was actually real. She couldn't see Rito's cowering form anymore, not with her eyes tightly closed and body shivering despite there being no temperature here.

Trans-Fusion was a double edged sword, granting both she and her host a two way street into each other's personalities if they had the knowledge to do so, and she'd made the mistake of picking the one memory that actually had overlap in her own history. Recalling her own isolation before she had met Mea, back when all she knew was the ruins of a laboratory and the silence of a world without light, it sent her to her knees, eyes opening as she instinctively punched the invisible wall she leaned on.

The contact didn't hurt her, nor did it damage the structure of this memory, but the intent was not to break it like the other minor shards she'd found before. This time, she was forcing her way back out, dragging herself away from the contact long enough to return back to the crystal world she had become accustomed to.

In the harsh light of the glass forest, she still sat on the ground, staring at the massive piece she'd attempted to view, and though it felt like her body was trying to reject the recovery she'd managed since fusing with Rito, she pushed her hand to the ground, ignoring the pain of the shards in her palm as she stood back up, continuing on her journey towards the center.

" **Humans are simpler than I thought, if seeing something traumatic is enough to get you to let loose."** she said, frowning as she held her hand to her head, where only a few days ago, she'd been missing part of the matter that formed her body thanks to Shizu's psychic attack. She was no human herself, so she couldn't let thoughts of this boy's past sweep her up so easily.

Her laugh was hollow as she stumbled thanks to another tremor below her feet, and around her, more crystals attempted to grow before being cut down by the vibration. Rito wasn't allowing his Outer shell to take control right now, and this sort of determination was not something she was used to, nor was hearing his logic as to why Lala had to leave the area. It was sound, and to an outsider, it would seem like he simply was thinking quickly, but with her view on the inside, it was clear to her his real intentions.

He had made his decision already, before the fight had even begun. She hadn't been paying heed to the crystal's development, but looking back, the extent of growth had slowed since she decided to join in. Mea hadn't needed her aid after all.

" **Princess, if anything goes wrong, I will lend him my strength."** What a lie, she didn't even believe herself, but she still spoke with a commanding tone, utilizing her memory of the disconnected reasoning she used back when she still went by 'Master Nemesis'. " **Don't you remember how everything goes wrong when you get involved? Don't think I'm not aware of how you nearly died against Darkness once before."**

As she neared the center, the tremors stopped, the crystal now too thick for what was below to damage. This was the center, the core structure keeping this whole world standing.

She sat down heavily, not caring anymore about the feeling of the hard ground below her as she looked on to the flat ground in front of her. There were no shards here, no transparent trees, no sharp blades of grass, nothing but a smooth, polished surface that let her see straight through the meters of solid glass to the ground below. Here, the mounting pressure from the forest around had compressed it so much that she doubted she could crack it, much less break through.

She sighed, running her hand through her hair. What did Mea think she could do against this? It was the same as giving her a shovel to move a mountain, the girl had severely overestimated her abilities.

" _Nemesis."_ Rito speaking her name surprised her, and she lifted her head, not that she could physically see him. " _You can't really defend me, can you? You need other people to Body Jack, and there's nobody else around."_

She hesitated, before chuckling, a forced sound to make it seem that she was more confident than in reality. " **Sometimes, it is best to lie. You did too, didn't you? Claiming you were just going to stand still...I can see everything you're thinking, remember? Your blood is boiling, there's rage welling up within you."** She frowned, looking down through the ground she sat on. With the stability of this one place, it almost felt like that wall had inside that memory. An immovable structure in a world collapsing around her. " **Are you going to go all out against someone you love as dearly as Yami?"**

She knew before she asked the question that his answer would be the deciding factor in what happened here. If he chose to fight, then even Darkness would be unable to do anything to stop him, her deep-seated feelings for him paralyzing her while he attacked, but if he chose to stay away, then this crystal would settle, freezing in place and remaining as strong as it ever was. No matter what he chose, there was nothing she could do about it anymore.

" _I'm not going to hurt anyone."_ So, he had chosen to fall back to his old habits- " _But, I'm not letting anyone be hurt, either. I'll resolve this without any more bloodshed."_

Her eyes widened as she looked up, peering forward to the treeline, where even the branches shied away from the central core she sat atop.

Of course, that was just like him. Perhaps she had been wrong, his inner self hadn't been coming out any more often than it did before Darkness ever happened. Maybe she had simply been misinterpreting what he was saying all along.

She had been just like those people shouting at him in his dreams. She'd put him in a box and decided anything that came out was someone else, and she had fallen into the same trap of accusing him of being simple minded.

" **Nightmares and dreams are just part of your own mental processes, the chaos within them reflects yourself."** Who was she speaking to, him, or herself? She'd never slept before, never really understood what it meant to have dreams, so he would have to act as a proxy for her. As her host, he would live for her, and let her stay in the shadows, with no ambition or persona of her own. Let him decide his own path now, there was no point in outsiders trying to manipulate him. " **Utilize the fuel your mind has given you. Do as you wish, don't worry about the world around you. Allow your own Darkness to dictate your actions."**

Darkness. That word didn't mean what she thought it did. It wasn't the same as Inner Rito, was it? It wasn't any sort of desire for revenge for people that had been hurt, or cynicism over his mistreatment. To Yami, Darkness represented a release from the limitations of her mind. To Rito…

It was breaking free of the suffocating crystal.

~~~Outside~~~

Rito exhaled, closing his fists to steel his nerves and begin walking forward. His jaw still hurt, but adrenaline numbed the pain as he focused on keeping stable on the uneven terrain while he moved towards the two Trans still trading blows. Momo had by now collapsed in someone's backyard, relatively out of the way of the fighting while she checked on Nana, who was conscious but still unable to move, curled up on the ground in front of her twin while Momo stood guard, tail raised in case Mea's defense was broken.

Her eyes widened as she spotted Rito, and she called out, leading him to look in her direction as she waved behind him. "We can't fight her the same way as last time, and Nana's injured!" she called, and he shook his head, looking between her and the blonde.

"I know she's not the same as she usually is." he responded, his frown deepening. "It's not like before, she doesn't have an exit like the first time. But, I still have something I want to say, even if she isn't listening."

"Rito-san, you...You're not acting the same as you normally would." the girl said, and Nana groaned, planting a hand on the dirt to push her up enough to look at the boy.

"You beast...You'd rather your body break before your will, wouldn't you?"

"I have Nemesis on my side if anything goes wrong." he said, echoing the Trans' promise. "And Mea's still fighting, right?"

"Rito-senpai!" The magenta-haired Trans landed next to him, briefly glancing at the twins before turning to him. As she was looking away from Darkness, it didn't give much indication that she'd found where they were hiding, and her elder sister was out of earshot of Momo speaking. "What are you doing here, you should get away!" She glanced behind her, before grabbing him and jumping aside as a portal opened, her hair extending to launch a blade through the wormhole where she'd been standing.

She landed hard on the ground, keeping him cushioned by her body as she rolled over to stand up, while Rito groaned, sitting up from the ground and rubbing his jaw as Mea stood in front of him, raising her arm to hold the cannon formed from her braid, aimed at the girl hovering above the ground.

"Now you're keeping Rito away too? I'm not hiding anything anymore, so there's no reason to make him leave." She raised her arm, the blade tilting forward as she neared the two. "Do you think I would hurt him too? That if he stood in my way, I'd strike him down like I am you and Princess Momo? You helped me find Darkness again, and you can just look into my mind to see the truth. I only want Nana gone, but you're the only one who's still able to fight."

Mea grit her teeth, holding her hand out to stop Rito from stepping forward. "I tried to control Darkness, I underestimated how angry she'd actually be when I told her about Nana hurting you. She's still my friend, and I'm going to protect her." She aimed the cannon forward, closing one eye to look down its sight. "I finally make a decision about who I want to be after Master let me go, and it ends in complete disaster. I'm not going to fight for you, this is for Nana."

Rito blinked, before stepping back, his hands shaking beside him as he looked down at the broken ground. "I still have something to-"

His eyes widened as he felt his body seize, staring forward at the lone strand of hair crossing from the girl's braid to tap his forehead. Was she Psycho Diving while she was preparing to fire?

She pulled the trigger, and braced herself for the recoil as a blast equal to the twins' individual lasers fired forward, but just as before, it simply reflected off the hair shield Darkness formed in front of her, grinning as she flew to the side.

"I'm not waiting any longer if you have no new tricks." she stated, forming a large portal that allowed her to slip her entire body through, and Mea cried out in surprise as she reappeared next to her, ramming shoulder first into her and knocking her off balance as Rito stared forward, still fighting the Psycho Dive as his body shook in place.

~~~In Rito's mind~~~

Nemesis jolted as she felt motion below her feet, and again, the tremors started, the trees surrounding the core shaking as the cracks continued expanding. What was happening now? This was the very core of his personality, if it started being damaged, then-

She stood up, catching her balance as the transparent slab below began to bleach itself of its color, a pale grey that enhanced the tiny cracks within as the sound of rock breaking below echoed through the crystal.

" **Mea, is this you?!"** she called, recognizing the same energy as she had felt back during the previous Darkness incident, when the girl had invaded her own mind to pin down the source of the Trans-Fusion. Was she here now? When had she entered, and how had she done so without any warning?

" _Darkness is trying to help Rito-senpai, but she's lost her senses of what that actually means."_ the other Trans said, her voice echoing over the loud noise of cracks forming below. " _Rito has his own darkness, it has to be destroyed to help him. I tried to solve it peacefully, I didn't want things to go this far, but I've kind of realized now that my intervention just causes problems. I'm leaving it to you now."_

Nemesis grit her teeth, before standing straight, raising her arms to either side as she stared into the sky, now blindingly bright as whatever light source existed here blasted the glass with heat, but despite it burning her feet, she stood her ground, turning her confused concern into courage to shout aloud.

" **Is this why you put me here? To show me that I've been too relaxed? I get it, I saw the nightmare! I know what the darkness you keep talking about looks like, so stop now! Let me go, I'm sick of being unable to do anything! Rito! I said I would defend you, so I will!"**

She stumbled again, disoriented by the blinding light and the shifting ground, and as she lost her balance and fell forward, she brought her hand into a fist, driving it into the ground as she landed.

Under so much pressure from the surrounding forest and the frequent tremors, the little added force she put to her punch caused the crystal to shatter, sending her flying back as a fountain of the dirt below poured out, dissolving in the harsh light as she stared wide-eyed at what she'd done.

" **N-No, that's not-That wasn't what I meant to do!"** she cried, crawling forward on her knees in an effort to stop the flow with her hands, but she stared in horror as she realized that while she tried to block it, she instead was shovelling handfuls of dirt out, sending them up in the air and allowing more and more of the crystal to collapse around her.

~~~Outside~~~

As Mea collapsed nearby, Rito closed his eyes, his hands raising against the Psycho Dive's control, weakening as she was struck by Darkness' hair fists, and he rested his palm on his forehead, his eyes twitching before his expression hardened, and he ran forward, breaking free of Mea's control and running between the downed girl and the oncoming Darkness, whose arms were both raised, transformed into their blades as she reared back in preparation to skewer the girl on the ground.

" _ **What did you do?!"**_ Nemesis' voice cracked in his head, and he smiled as the world went silent, arms outstretched as he was lifted in the air. " _ **You idiot, are you telling me you really are willing to break your body before your mind?! What did I tell you about nightmares being made up by those who have them?!"**_

Mea stared at him in shock, while Momo covered Nana's eyes, though the handicapped princess had already passed out from exhaustion as her sister watched everything that had just taken place, and Rito laughed, smiling at Darkness as she stood inches from his face, her eyes wide and mouth agape in confusion.

"I had something to say to you." he said, and the street was bathed in silence, his words the only sound they could hear. "I thought about it for a long time, but when you kissed me, I reached a conclusion." His smile widened as his eyes closed, and he coughed, sending blood welling into his mouth and forcing him to swallow it away.

"Rito…" Darkness said, and her eyes shimmered as liquid started welling up. "You...Why did you…" She was cut off as he reached his hands forward to pull her into an embrace, the contact pushing her blades farther forward against her will.

"I'm your target." he replied, and despite the pain, his body was still, forced calm by his determination to finish what he wanted to say. "I'm the only one you needed to look at. Stay here, meet Mikan again. Let things go back to before." He shook his head. "Forget about chasing after me. Stop being an assassin for good, it's just going to hurt you more...Eve."

~~~Inside~~~

Nemesis shivered, unable to stop her digging as she shouted her protests, before she felt the ground below her collapse, sending her tumbling into the dirt, which quickly gave way to nothingness below, and as she fell, she stared up listlessly at the shrinking light above.

" **What part of this is saving him?"** she asked, not sure whether she was speaking to Mea anymore or just to the void around her. " **Isn't this just punishing me for running away? Mea...Darkness...It never meant anything, did it? You lied to me…"**

Was that all she was able to do, even right up to the end? She hadn't done anything but add to the destruction of the last bastion of support. She really couldn't blame, Mea, could she? It was her who had delivered the true finishing blow, not Darkness.

Her head swam as her vision blurred, and by the time she had passed out, she still had not reached the bottom.


	39. Aftermath

**And thus, Act III begins! I sort of got sick and wasn't writing much, but now I'm back to health and ready to get back into it. Here's hoping you all like it!**

* * *

The school days following the event had been more subdued than normal, students talking in more hushed whispers when they passed by the second year hall as news of the incident spread by word of mouth. It hadn't taken long for people to become aware of what had happened, and with neither Yami nor Mea spotted at school since then, there was little to stop the rumors as neither Momo nor Lala talked much about their sides of the story, and Nana was also out of school as she recovered from her injuries.

Lala had been hit especially hard thanks to her decision to leave the situation to Rito, and the days following were spent with her often quiet and unfocused, and at home, her lab went untouched as she spent most of her time in her bedroom, not bothering to come out except when called.

Saruyama groaned, resting his head on his hand, elbow set firmly on his desk and looking sideways at Kotegawa, as the girl had approached him over some minor infraction or another. "It's too quiet here." he complained. "I know you can feel it too. Doesn't feel right without Rito around."

"It's not like he's dead." stated the disciplinary president, setting her hand on the desk in front of the boy. "Mikado-sensei said he'd probably wake up soon, but you still shouldn't let Yuuki-kun being away affect you this much. He gets himself hurt all the time, that shouldn't stop us from doing our work properly!" She jolted as she felt a ball of paper hit her in the back of the head, turning around to face Momioka, who was idly leaning back in her chair, her legs crossed on her desk.

"Oh, quit your nagging for once." the brunette said, lowering her hand from the throw. "Alive or not, the guy's popular. You can't expect everyone to just go about their day as normal when he's been stuck in a hospital bed." She grinned, tilting her head. "Besides, don't you like this quiet atmosphere over how rowdy it usually is?"

The black-haired girl frowned, before sighing, crossing her arms and hmphing. "It's better rowdy than unable to focus." she replied.

~~~At the hospital~~~

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?" the officer asked to the girl in front of him, seated on a bench in the hallway next to the room the subject of the investigation was within, and she shook her head, arms on her thighs and visible to the cop to ensure he was aware she didn't mean harm.

"I am not a citizen of this world, but I acknowledge that I committed a crime, and involved a civilian in my fight. If I must, I am willing to accept punishment for my actions."

The man shook his head, writing down something in his notebook. "You're under Mikado Ryouko's jurisdiction, and since you don't have a recorded identity and already are under probation for the 'Darkness Incident' five weeks ago, you'll have to be judged by her people. I'm just here to take your statement."

The doctor standing next to him smiled, patting the officer's shoulder as he looked to the seated Trans. "You don't have to be concerned, your existence here on Earth is well documented. We understand you're not the type of person to snap like that without a different reason."

When she didn't answer, the cop stood up, sighing as he looked over his notes before returning the book and pencil to his bag. "Well, I'll review your statement and send it in to Mikado-dono." He turned to the doctor, nodding once. "Give me a call when Yuuki-san wakes up, and I'll return to hear his response."

He looked back at Yami, smiling and pinching the brim of his uniform cap to give her a slight bow. "I'm not here to judge anyone, ma'am, but you seem to be a genuinely kind person. I hope your boyfriend is easily forgiving."

"Boyf-" Her eyes widened briefly as she shook her head, holding a hand to her forehead and using the other to push herself to a standing position. "No. No, it isn't like that. After this, I can't expect anything to-"

"Yeah, yeah." the man said, smirking. "Young love, how cute, even if you were born during the Edo period." he stated, before turning to leave the two alone, and Yami faced the doctor, who smiled, motioning to the door.

"I'm sure you're aware since you came by today, but his readings have started suggesting he'll be waking up soon." he stated, and she nodded, following behind him into the room. She briefly flinched at the sterile white light, but her vision adjusted quickly as she peered at the bed where the boy rested.

Unlike when he was recovering from Nana's kick, this time he had been put under more intensive care, with an IV drip and electrodes to monitor his vital signs placed around his body and under his hospital robe. As he had been the last several days, his eyes were closed and he hadn't moved, causing her to narrow her eyes as she sat down in a chair meant for guests.

The doctor hummed as he looked over the documents on his desk, raising them to read more closely and speaking without looking away. "Normally, this is information reserved only for his family, but Mikado-dono asked me to include you in that list owing to your role, and she has already gone over this with his parents. That said, do you mind signing this to show you consent to an oath of secrecy?" He held the paper out to her, along with a pen, and she raised an eyebrow, causing him to chuckle. "It isn't anything that won't become obvious when he wakes up, but I still have to ask you anyway."

She remained still for several seconds, before taking the paper, setting it on the wall behind her to scrawl her signature on the line without bothering to read the legalese above. It didn't really matter, and it was nothing she hadn't seen before after her trips to Mikado's healing tanks underground.

As he accepted the paper, the doctor's smile dropped, and his tone became more serious when he glanced at the boy. "Very well. As you may already know, Yuuki Rito-san is considered a missionary by federal law due to his interactions with so many different alien species. You are aware of that, correct?"

"I was told that, yes." she responded. "But it hasn't come up, so I don't think he himself knows."

The man nodded, crossing his arms and sighing. "Well, it's because of that status that Mikado-dono got personally involved, and it appears that, on monitoring him after the recent incident, he had a condition that went unnoticed when she diagnosed his inner ear defect."

"His darkness." she replied, and he blinked, looking to her as she frowned. "Mea told me something along those lines. He has some form of split personality, doesn't he?"

The man raised his hand to cough into his fist. "Well, yes...At least, he did. It seems that a side effect of his stepping into your attack jarred his mind and caused that split to rupture." At her confused expression, he waved his hand. "That means that, whatever happened then, it caused him to sort out his own problems and undo, as you say, his 'darkness'. However, it's not all positive, unfortunately."

Her eyes narrowed, and she squeezed her hand to keep herself from allowing her Trance to activate. "What do you mean? I was told he would be waking up again soon."

"Of course, he will. His body took well to the treatment, and physically, he's recovered spectacularly. However, it seems his mind has been affected." He tapped his temple, sighing heavily, and she nodded.

"So, he may not remember what actually happened." she stated, raising her finger to her chin in thought. "If that's the case, then I will explain it honestly. I'm not going to hide behind a facade anymore, so-" She was interrupted by him shaking his head.

"I'm not referring to a matter of a few days. We won't know how bad it is until he wakes up, but it's possible he's lost a significant portion of his memory. I can reasonably say that his split personality was harming him, but it appears that it was deeply ingrained enough that suddenly pulling it out may have damaged him more than it helped."

The blonde lowered her head, biting her lip as she felt her hands shaking, and she had to consciously focus on not letting her hair raise up around her. "So, you're telling me that not only will his memory of that battle be lost, but he may not remember me at all. Is that why Doctor Mikado wanted me to know this early?"

He nodded, before waving his hand to the ECG monitor at the end of the bed. "Your timing was excellent as well. Given your connection to him, she felt you were the person who should meet him first. I have something to do for a bit, so try not to destroy the room."

As he moved beside her to reach for the doorknob, he stopped briefly, glancing to look at her sideways while her gaze remained fixed in front of her, and his tone was grim as he spoke again. "Remember, it's possible he may not recognize you. Try to give a good first impression, Assassin-san."


	40. Heartache

~~~Inside Rito's Mind~~~

Nemesis lay still on the ground, limbs splayed out as she remained still, ignoring the aching in her back from landing hard on the ground below as she stared with half-lidded eyes at the sky above.

It was just as the sky in the physical world looked, a few clouds breaking the monotonous blue and a breeze across her skin telling her that there was some sort of feeling of 'existing' here. It was a totally different world than that which she had fallen from, where there was more detail, but everything remained stable, solid and unchanging but for the slow growth of the crystal.

Eventually, she found the strength to roll over, staring sideways as her cheek rested on the grass, which ticked her face as it blew in the wind. Grass. Actual green grass, and she could lay in it without fear of cutting her skin with the slightest movement.

Why was this new world so peaceful? This was supposed to be the hidden roots of the problem, the center of the shells she had broken through. She wasn't ever supposed to stop falling, yet here she was, on the ground with little more than the breath knocked out of her.

As she stood up, she held a hand to her chest, confused by the feeling of struggling to breathe. She was certain she was still within the boy's mind, and she had never experienced feelings of pain and the need for oxygen before, so why now? Had something in her broken at the same time she shattered the world above?

As she stumbled, she reached out to press a palm onto the trunk of a nearby tree and catch her balance, staring at the wood with wide eyes. She'd put in too little force, expecting it to give way and collapse, but it was solid. It wasn't crystal that dug into her hand, it was actual wood, slightly loose and leaving remnants of bark that clung to her skin when she looked at her palm.

" **This is…"** She paused, trying to find the word. Pain? No, while she never knew what that was like, she doubted this was it. Confusion? She understood that concept well enough after the last month of sitting around in that abandoned building, wondering what she'd done wrong. No, this was something else. Was this what Mea was trying to do, getting her involved?

She had no idea what her former servant was thinking. She had completely failed to protect Rito, and her relaxation had lead to both of their downfalls. As she held the hand coated in bark debris to cover one side of her face, she sat down, staring at the single shard that remained nearby.

It was barely worth noting anymore, just a tiny nugget barely the size of her finger, but she reached forward with her free hand, digging into the ground to pull it up and get a better look, ignoring the sharp edges as she tightened her grip to read the memory within it.

The eye not covered by her hand narrowed, and she chuckled to herself, squeezing her hand into a fist to grind it to dust, letting it dissipate into the air as the final piece of the shells keeping him captive was destroyed.

" **Being accused of vandalizing a garden is the source of all this?"** she asked herself, leaning back on the tree to look up at the sky with a small smile on her face. " **Humans can be so simple…"**

~~~In the hospital~~~

With the doctor gone, the room was silent, as Yami chose to simply lace her hands together in her lap, watching Rito's sleeping form unblinkingly as she steeled herself for what might very well be a devastating blow. She knew there was a distinct chance that there wouldn't be a problem, that he'd be just as he usually was, but she also had lived long enough that she knew he may also be a totally different person now. Whatever was going on inside his head, she could only guess, and the only person who really knew had gone missing in the aftermath.

Despite having broken free of Darkness' grasp, her anger towards the second-gen Trans remained, so she quietly hoped and dreaded Mea returning. She had no idea what she would do when that time came, but for now, she had to-

A groan from the bed sent all those thoughts scattering away like cherry leaves, and she blinked a few times, shifting in her seat in anticipation as the boy's eyes slowly opened, staring upward and apparently not noticing her presence.

The light was harsh on his vision, left only to see his own eyelids for days, and he couldn't do more than keep them narrowed while they slowly adjusted. A hand moved up under the thin sheet covering him to pull the breath mask over his face off, his breath creating an uncomfortably warm fog in the device that faded in the moment of separation before setting it back, as he was smart enough to realize it might still be necessary.

"What…" His eyes shifted around the room, and though the mask distorted his voice, it sounded mostly normal, so it appeared he had been spared from too much damage internally. "Why am I here?" He caught sight of the girl sitting nearby, and his wandering eyes stabilized, fixing on her. "You're…"

"Yuu-" She cut herself off before she could finish the name. Whether he remembered her or not, she wasn't going to continue with the impersonal greetings she usually gave him. "Rito. Are you alright?" She inwardly cringed at the effort to make small talk, something she was not used to doing. Of course he wasn't alright, he was strapped to medical equipment.

He was silent for a moment, before sitting up, keeping careful not to move any of the electrodes or the IV in his arm, just in case he still needed them, though he did take off the mask as he found that he was hardly light-headed, much less actually feeling poorly. "It's weird, I'm better than I thought I was. Pretty scary, waking up and finding myself caught in all these wires. Did I pass out or something?"

The look of innocent confusion on his face wasn't quite his usual expression, and she narrowed her eyes, twirling her fingers together to keep herself calm. "You don't remember?" she asked, and he shook his head, tapping his chin with a finger as he thought it over.

"Hmm, no, I don't think so. Did I pass out on the way home or something? Nobody ever drives down those streets, I didn't get hit, did I?" Who was this person? He racked his brain for the memory, but could only draw up blanks. A classmate? She seemed to be a high-schooler though, was she just on her way home too?

He idly scratched an itch on his chest, tilting his head at her obvious flinch. "My head hurts a little, but I'm pretty much good otherwise. Was it worth all this?" He motioned to the ECG at the other end of the bed.

"It's been several days since you got hurt." she stated, forcing her tone to remain neutral while still trying to keep some form of familiarity, and she just hoped her acting was good. It was hard not to get choked up at even such a small motion as him touching the place where one of the injuries caused by her blades should be, though now, there weren't even scars left behind to suggest he had been as close to death as he was then. "Home from school...It was morning, you were on your way there, not home. Do you remember our conversation, when you were heading home? About how if something is said, it can't be taken back?"

That had been a while ago, and so many things had happened since then, but she had to at least know the answer to that, keeping her face as flat and deadpan as she could to gauge his response without him being biased by her own feelings. She just had to hope that they weren't back to square one.

"Sorry?" he asked, laughing hesitantly and scratching his head. "Maybe it just slipped my mind, but I can't recall. Doesn't sound like something I'd talk about though, I'm not really a fan of deep conversations. Do you live nearby, was I taking you home?"

Her hands gripped each other tightly in her lap as she put more effort into keeping her expression neutral. _Of course I don't live nearby, you idiot. You know that very well._

"N-No, I don't live in town." she stated, though now, even to her own ears her facade had begun to crack along with her voice. "You don't need to feign ignorance, you're well aware I'm not the type to enjoy being pranked. We aren't strangers, we're-"

She was cut off by him making a look of realization, and she couldn't hold back a hopeful expression as he nodded. "Oh, yeah! There was an assembly with some people visiting from Sainan High, are you enrolled there? Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention then, it was mostly just stuff they tell you all the time."

At that, Yami's face fell, her efforts to remain stoic shattering as she felt tears well up in her eyes, and she raised a hand to her face to cover herself from his view. "You...You really don't remember me, do you?" she asked, and this time, she didn't care about the tightness in her throat as she forced the words out. "Rito...You know who I am, right? Tell me I'm wrong, tell me you recognize my name. Yam-" She froze, eyes widening and staring into the palms of her hands.

The thought that he had forgotten her was devastating, but this was a chance to change things, wasn't it? She didn't have to explain everything and go back to the uncertainty of before. She could let it go and become a new person, use this opportunity to turn over a new leaf officially. She had been sincere when she told herself before, on her ship, that she was happy with her confession being rejected, that she would be fine staying at the sidelines.

She didn't have to be Yami anymore, she had a chance now to be Eve.

She clenched her hands together, biting her lip to steel herself to look at him again. "It's Eve. We don't see each other that often, but we're friends. Remember?"

"Friends?" Rito asked, a drawn out silence for several seconds as he debated on what to say, before a smile played on his face. "Sorry, I don't remember you, but is it fine if we just start from scratch?"

He moved his hand to offer a handshake with her, but lowered it in confusion as he noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks, the girl sitting unmoving as she maintained eye contact with him. "Um...Sorry, I really don't know what to say. I hope we get along?"

She shook her head, before reaching to wipe her hand across her eyes and clear the liquid away. "Y-Yeah. It's good to meet you, Rito."

His smile came back in full force, a bright grin that overshadowed her frown quickly. "Nice to meet ya, Eve-san."


	41. Blank

Yami stood up, ignoring the numbness of her fingers clenched into fists as Rito blinked, looking up at her in confusion. "Uh, Eve-chan?" he asked, seeing if the other honorific had a better reaction than his usage of the standard -san earlier. "Or would I usually not use anything? Sorry, it's kind of uncomfortable being that familiar with someone I don't know…"

She shook her head, swallowing to clear the lump in her throat as she stared at him with a mixture of a glare and narrowing her eyes to keep herself from crying again. "Whatever you want to use, you've never spoken that formally to me before, even when we had just met." She had to get away. He didn't know her at all, and hearing him so easily accept using her true name without so much as questioning it meant that he really had no memory of her at all. Two years of forcing herself to stay distant, and just a month of her having a real chance, gone in an instant.

She couldn't blame anyone but herself either. Even though it had been Nana who injured him, she had been easily manipulated by Mea into a fight she wouldn't have otherwise dealt with. She knew Nana was violent, and she herself had lead to Rito returning home with a bandage on his face numerous times. An actual injury requiring medical treatment was bound to happen eventually, she had no business getting involved. And why had Darkness come out so easily, with no changes to her physiology like had happened last time?

Had Mea been modifying her thoughts with Psycho Dive, or was she really just leaning that far over the edge already? Darkness was still a mystery to her, and even though she'd finally sorted out her own feelings, now she had the issue of having no idea anymore how close she might be to going over the edge again.

She sighed, turning away from the boy to raise a hand to her mouth and prevent herself from choking up. "We were friends before." she stated. "Not as close as others were to you, but we understood each other. I don't know how you are now, but then, you were very good at recognizing the 'darkness' in people and bringing them out of it. So, while we're starting over now…" She lowered her gaze to her boots, stepping away from the bed towards the door. "I'm strong enough to handle you speaking with that cold tone, but to the others...Don't be so callous toward them. I think they need you to be as considerate as you've always been."

"Um…" He was confused by the seemingly random statement, before nodding. "I...Sure? Sorry if I'm being rude, I'm not quite sure what's going on."

She nodded, crossing her arms to rub her hands along her triceps and stop her shivering as she stood, still not facing him as she prepared herself to walk away. She had her chance to tell him the truth now. If she just spoke up, then she could repair the abusive relationship they'd had, and clear her name in case Nana and the others spoke negatively about her. She could tell him about her confession, ask about his answer, and hope that something more could happen thanks to him undoing the shackles of her history.

But, she stepped forward, away from him and towards the door. She knew she couldn't face him, there was no way for her to simply act like nothing had gone wrong. They could never be any more than friends, she had been too flawed from the start for any chance of that happening, and now, he hardly cared about her existence beyond simply being the first person he saw when he woke. As Yami, she couldn't possibly erase her mistakes and move on.

But, she could start over, as Eve. Gone was the assassin Konjiki no Yami, gone was the genetic experiment that murdered countless people before coming to this world. Gone was her need for the nanobots inside every cell of her body, giving her command of an ability she no longer wanted.

She didn't need Trance anymore. It had been the source of all her problems, ever since she was a child in that lab on Kurosu. An artificial power she never asked for, and the force that caused him to lose his mind like this.

As she walked away from him, she left behind the person she was. She was reborn just like him, and with that, she could finally start fresh. She didn't want him to accept her love anymore, all she needed was to be at his side as a normal friend, someone who could stick by him without the complex relationship they'd had before.

Rito blinked as the door closed, watching the door for a few moments before sighing and lying back down to look at the ceiling. "Weird girl…" he said under his breath. "What was that about?"

~~~An hour later~~~

Rito hadn't even realized he'd fallen back asleep until he was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening again, and he looked over, about to ask about 'Eve' before noting that she wasn't present, and he grinned, sitting up as he recognized some of the four visitors. "Yo, Mikan!" he said, waving to her as she frowned, holding up a plate covered in foil to view as the group filed in to stand next to the bed.

"I made some extra, want some, Rito?" she asked, pulling the foil off to reveal a plate of taiyaki, and he nodded, reaching to take one and laughing.

"Oh yeah, you were learning to cook, weren't you?" he asked, taking a bite, before momentarily flinching, though he forced the bite down and held a thumb up. "Er...keep it up…" So bitter, the beans weren't mixed very thoroughly. He could have sworn she was a better chef than this, even if it had been a bit longer than he thought since he blacked out.

The girl blinked, before Saruyama laughed, patting her shoulder as he leaned forward, his other arm on Sairenji's shoulder and pushing her to lean as well. "Look at that, you're awake enough to criticize her. Don't you know that stuff was made with love? Nobody but you were allowed to eat any, she made that pretty obvious." Oddly, the boy used a pronoun suggesting he wasn't referring to Mikan, but Rito ignored it as he waved his hand, taking another bite out of courtesy.

"I still owe you 500 yen, don't I?" he asked, and at the boy's confused expression, he shook his head. "I'm honest, I remember that I lost that bike race we had. I had the bet in my pocket, but I'm not sure where they put my clothes...Did someone take them home for me?"

"What are you talking about?" his best friend asked, and he blinked.

"Remember the race to the shrine? It was only a couple days ago." He was silent for a moment, before a grin split his face. "Did you get distracted by some girl again and forget? Come on, Kenichi, at least one of us remembers their promises."

The boy's eyes widened, and Mikan jolted, waving at Lala to step back as the princess, who had oddly been ignored, looked in her direction. "What? What happened?" the Devilukean asked, an uncertain tone in her voice. "Rito, who's Kenichi?"

The hand Saruyama kept over Sairenji's shoulder tightened to a fist as his default smile dropped, the blue-haired girl equally surprised by the wording their mutual friend had chosen. "'Kenichi', you say...Rito, you haven't called me that since 8th grade."

Rito blinked, before laughing. "What do you mean? I did hear that I was out for longer than I thought, but summer hasn't passed already, has it?"

Sairenji held her hand up, counting on her fingers with a concerned tone in her voice. "8th grade...Yuuki-kun, that was...3 years ago? Almost 4? Did you...lose your memory?" He wasn't sure exactly what the tone in her voice was. Concern, yes, but not to the same degree as Eve had been. He fished his memory for this girl, knowing he recognized her from somewhere. "Er...Saiko-san, right?" He blinked, scratching his head. "No, that's not right...I do recognize you, but my memory's all foggy...You're in my class though, I'm pretty sure…"

Sairenji blinked, eyes going wide as Saruyama sighed, shaking his head as he looked at Mikan, who had crossed her arms, staring at her brother with unblinking eyes. "Hey, you don't think-"

"The doctors did tell Papa something about possibly amnesia." she stated, her voice grim as she set the taiyaki plate down on the desk next to the bed. "But, that long…" She shook her head, looking over at Lala. "You overheard that conversation too, didn't you? Were you expecting it to be this bad?"

The normally optimistic girl wasn't smiling right now, and gave a slow nod as she scratched her head. "I saw what happened right after that happened, I didn't think things would turn out well so easily…"

"You're taking the idea he has no idea who you are oddly well." Mikan said. "It might all be gone-"

She was cut off by Lala moving her tail to cover the girl's mouth, a small smile on her face as she turned to Rito, whose eyes went wide at the sight.

"A t-tail?" he asked, staring at the spade as she moved it in the air, and she sighed, moving it back behind her.

"I can be mature too." she said. "I know I can be absentminded, but I'm not naive. It's just so much easier to pretend to be ignorant…" She frowned, before shaking her head to bring her small smile back. "Rito...I'm not human. A lot of people you're friends with aren't, we come from outside Earth."

He was silent for several moments, as were the others, waiting for his reaction, before he chuckled to himself, raising a hand to his forehead. "Really…? I know I'm not aware what's going on, but this is too confusing. That other girl, Eve, is she an 'alien' too?"

"Eve?" Saruyama asked, and Mikan blinked.

"Who is that?"


	42. Suppress

**So, it's been way too long. Holiday season at work has been killer, and probably will continue to be as we get closer to Christmas. But, I can also say I have been checking back here, and am aware of some people's concerns with the series, so I'll mention now my answer.**

 **This is a very different story than the original Snapped, as you can tell. Putting more focus on Rito's overly developed ability to be considerate, Mea's role, and Yami's relationship with Rito has certainly lead to a totally different story than what DKDC originally created. However, despite the current arc and the themes of the story as a whole, I will say now that the original concept has not gone away. Rito will not end the story peacefully, his snap has yet to happen, and it will not be avoided. I can't say much more than that, but I'll be happy to answer if anyone has questions or concerns!**

 **I don't recall if I've done this for this story, but I also have a discord if you want to join for more immediate responses. Snapped is very underrepresented there compared to my other story, so it would be nice to have others on it! CBpcmAV**

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Rito frowned, looking down at his hands as he pondered what to say. "So, I'm a second year in Sainan High now, and Sairenji-san and I have been friends since 9th grade, which is also when I stopped calling Kenichi by his given name...What about Lala-san? When did I meet her?" Almost four years since his last memory. Now that he looked more closely at the people around him that he did recognize, he wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed the age difference from his memories. Saruyama had been shorter than him then, and Mikan had definitely looked much more childish since she was only in second grade. Sairenji, he couldn't compare since he never actually spoke much with her before his memory ended, but he doubted a middle schooler would look like she did now.

"Almost two years ago." Lala replied, smiling as she leaned forward to rest her hands on his bed, staring at him with a mixture of concern and sadness on her face. "Though, you were more panicked about me being an alien then…"

Saruyama hummed, tapping his chin at the statement. "That's true, I remember you doing your best to hide it when she started coming to school, even though it was pretty obvious from the beginning." he said. "And you took a while to get used to it, it kind of took meeting-" Sensing Mikan glaring at him from the side, he laughed hesitantly, scratching the back of his head. "Well, nevermind. You think you might still recognize Lala-chan, even if just a bit?"

The boy looked between his friend and Lala a few times, narrowing his eyes while he searched his memory, and after a few moments, he groaned, reaching his hands up to hold his head. "It hurts to think too hard, I really don't know...But, I do feel like I should recognize her. There's something telling me that there's nothing to be surprised by. Like a voice in my head that only is telling me enough to not be confused…"

"Nemesis?" Sairenji asked, sharing glances with the others before she turned to the confused Rito. "She's another alien we know, though you're better acquainted with her than we are. She's been living inside your body for, what, a week now?"

He blinked, and was about to question her before he decided to simply give a hollow laugh, leaning back on his pillow. "Yeah, that's...Not something that's easy for me to process. Nemesis...sounds scary."

Lala sighed, standing straight and shaking her head. "Nemesis was a bad person before, but she changed now. She was protecting you, even though none of us did more than sort of notice you were acting strange." She frowned, her shoulders visibly lowering as her tone shifted. "I wanted to help since I noticed earlier than anyone else, but I just asked Yui to watch you instead…"

She looked beside her as Mikan set a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. "It's too late to change anything now, and considering how Rito's acting, I don't think any of that matters anymore." She turned to her brother, who now had taken another of the poorly-mixed taiyaki to eat as they talked. "If you lost your memory from a very specific point in time, then that was probably what caused your change in behavior in the first place. All of us regret not doing anything to help earlier, but while it's obvious you're a less ever-optimistic person than before, you also aren't berating Lala-san or shouting at us for not doing anything."

He tilted his head, before humming as he looked up at the ceiling in thought. "I...guess so. That other girl, Eve, she also told me something like that. That I acted ruder than she expected, and I used to be nothing but considerate…I don't know, that doesn't sound like who I am, you know? Sure, I don't like to hurt people, but it's not helping anyone if I just am nice all the time for no real reason. Is that bad?" He frowned, blinking as he waited for his sister's response.

Mikan groaned, tapping her forehead with her index finger. "There's another thing. For the last two years, the only times you weren't smiling were when you were being blamed for something, but now, your facial expressions are more normal. It's weird, but looking back, it's a little less porcelain than you were only a week ago."

He blinked again, before chuckling, reaching to pat her head, a motion which she jolted briefly at but soon allowed to happen. "I don't remember you being so grown up. What happened to my little sister who needed me to sleep with her during thunderstorms?"

Mikan's face went red as she swiped at his hand, backing up before regaining her composure. "I've always been the one taking care of you, I'm not going to miss details like that!" She crossed her arms, glaring at him as he grinned. "At least I'm not all over you like Dad's going to be when you get home. He's been too busy to visit much for a while, and then this happened."

~~~In a different room~~~

Nana was quiet as she stared forward, hands tucked under the thin hospital sheet in her lap while Zastin sat facing her. From his disheveled casual clothes and the ink stains on his hands, he must have rushed over from Yuuki Saibai's apartment, as if she recalled, it was getting close to a deadline. Honestly, it was surprising that he was able to visit at all, but given the state she was in, it also should have been expected considering his old role when he still worked under her father.

Whereas Rito had miraculously escaped with no external injuries despite the violent way he'd been taken down, she was not so lucky. Deep cuts along her sides, a concussion that was now covered in a thick layer of gauze, and the paramedics had been unable to find the rest of her tail in the debris, leaving her with less than four inches once the edge that had been unevenly severed was professionally amputated.

She had lost the greatest weakness of a Devilukean, but without it, she could barely sit comfortably, instinctively feeling like something was missing since she was able to lean back farther than she once could, a constant shifting that Zastin took notice of.

"Nana-sama, do you want me to get you anything?" he asked, motioning his hand to the door. "I cannot help until I've reported to Gid-dono-"

"Don't." she said, cutting him off as he blinked, confused by the word, spoken quietly but with an authority Nana rarely used.

"But, if I don't, then he won't know about Golden Darkness' attack." he stated, crossing his arms. "I know I haven't been a very good guardian since coming to this world, but I am still a soldier under the King. This isn't something I can let slide, especially with how you were-"

"Don't say anything to Papa." she reiterated. "Yami was under Darkness' control, she can't be blamed for this. Plus, I wasn't entirely innocent either…"

"Your injuring Rito-dono has nothing to do with this. I know that you may feel guilty, and that he has a close relationship with her, but the fact remains that Golden Darkness is an interplanetary threat. She may be inactive now, but she's still the most famous assassin in the galaxy."

"She's not anymore." Nana replied, biting her lip before continuing, keeping her gaze firmly away from the man. "Papa's too merciless, if he heard about it, he'd destroy the whole planet, especially if she left. You know he's only been letting Earth go because he approves of Rito."

Zastin was silent for a few moments, before sighing, leaning back in his seat. "He'll find out eventually, whether I tell him or not." he finally said, a grim tone in his voice. "You can't hide from him forever, and he'll notice something's off when he sees you, even if it's just a video call. Even if your minor injuries heal, there's no way of hiding that your tail is gone now, and he's good at reading your expression if you try to hide it. It might be worse for everyone involved if he finds out something this major happened and no one reported it."

She was quiet as she listened, before shaking her head. "Then I'll just trick him into not realizing it. Just don't say anything, that's an order from me as the second princess."

Zastin stiffened in his seat, before frowning, setting a palm on the side of his head to look sideways at her. "An order like that...While I do technically answer more directly to you princesses than Gid-dono himself, it doesn't sit right with me to do that. Going behind his back…"

Nana grit her teeth, her hands moving to grip the sheet until her knuckles went white, and as she spoke, she was on the verge of shouting, cutting him off with an angry wail. "Don't get him involved! Everyone's already been punished enough, can't this just end without more violence? Rito got hurt, I got hurt, Yami got hurt, and who even knows where Mea went? I'm sick of it, I don't want to deal with this anymore!"

She had closed her eyes halfway through her rant, and her voice was hoarse, causing her to start coughing as she raised a hand up to cover her mouth, while Zastin remained quiet, allowing her to get the shouting out of her system before speaking.

"...Alright. I won't say anything." he stated, standing up from his seat. "However, I also will not prevent anyone else from doing so. As I have taken a passive role since coming here, I will continue to do so."

She blinked, before smiling, though it was a sad expression, and she still refused to make eye contact with him. "Thank you, Zastin. Sorry I was too weak to fight her, if I won then none of this would-"

She stopped as the man set a hand on her hair, rubbing it as he knelt down to look her in the eye, forcing her to look in his direction. "Nana, no one can blame you. Last time, she was not truly aiming to kill anyone, but she still couldn't be defeated without the help of all of you siblings along with Rito-dono and Kurosaki Mea. While that second generation's motives are still under question, she was not on your side, and you were alone until Momo-sama arrived. For you to escape with only this much was far more than most who have met Golden Darkness alone."

She frowned, before giving a slow nod to show she understood, and he smiled, standing up again before jolting, taking his hand off her head and wiping it on his shirt. "I...I am sorry, Nana-sama, I had forgotten that I didn't have time to wash off before coming here…" He stood, confused as she laughed, before holding his hands to his side in defeat. "I apologize…"

"No, it's fine." she said, shaking her head. "Thanks, that did help...Can you go now? I'm tired, I need to sleep."

"Y-yes, Nana-sama." Zastin replied, and she smiled, waving as he walked out of the room, though as soon as the door closed, his expression fell as he turned to the girl leaning on the wall next to the door.

"You didn't want to come in, Momo-sama?" he asked, and she shook her head, standing up and crossing her arms.

"I don't think she'd be happy to see me, since I already told dad what was going on."


	43. Change

It was late, the sun just beginning to set as Yami, dressed in her school uniform despite it being hours after the doors had closed, looked forward, watching Tearju's back as the scientist turned teacher clicked her shoes on the floor. "Tear. You haven't said anything, I already told you that I-"

She was cut off by her biological progenitor turning her head, smiling at the girl as she adjusted her glasses. "Don't worry, I'm not here to blame you or punish you for your actions. I can't pretend that I know you better than anyone, but you're still my daughter. I'm sure you had some reasoning for it, and you didn't mean for things to go as far as they did." She glanced at the ceiling, tapping her chin with a finger as she slowed her pace to match her shorter clone. "But, I'm surprised it took you so long to get here. I heard you met with the police at the hospital, but isn't it only a few minutes' flight from here?"

The girl frowned, narrowing her eyes briefly at the question. "I walked. As I told you, I don't intend to use Trance anymore, even for something like flight."

The woman blinked, before a small smile formed on her face, reaching her arm to wrap around Yami's shoulder and bring her closer. "I should be the one apologizing for not talking, I know it's not like me to leave you in the dark. We're visiting Ryouko-shi, she contacted me and said to take you along."

"Ryou-" Yami blinked as she recalled the name, pushing Tearju's side to right herself to a standing position. "Mikado-sensei. The doctor taking care of Rito told me she was involved."

"Well, of course she is, she's the chief doctor for extraterrestials across Japan. That's how Nana-san's medical fees were paid even though she isn't a citizen."

Yami flinched at the mention of the princess, and she went quiet, listening to the woman talk as they made their way to the infirmary, where Tearju knocked on the door, earning a near-instant reply from inside.

As the teacher entered, followed by the Trans, Mikado waved, motioning them to sit at the temporary table she'd set out in front of a bed, the doctor herself sitting backwards in her usual chair at one end. "Sorry for the conditions, I don't have anywhere with any other space to sit. It's good to see you, Tear, Yami-san. Neither of you visit me very much."

The two greeted her, filing in to sit on the bed and face her across the table. While Yami simply sat uncomfortably, staring down at the table, Tearju smiled, moving her hands to lace her fingers together in front of her. "It's been busy, and normally I would be at home writing the test next week, but when you told me this was about the second Darkness Incident, I had to get involved."

Mikado nodded, sighing as she leaned back, holding her hands onto the chair's headrest to keep her balance. "Yes, I'm sure you do feel some responsibility, though I don't think this is your fault at all. All of this is just another result of Eden's lack of foresight. Those people...Long after they're all gone, the effects still remain." She smiled, turning her attention to Yami. "Don't be so anxious, I'm not blaming you either. Given the event five weeks ago, this too can be assumed to be caused by someone else manipulating you and your Darkness."

"Darkness…" The girl looked up to meet the doctor's eyes, her frown remaining in full force. "If this is about Mea, I can't help you with locating her. She has the ability to mask her presence, and I haven't seen her since then."

"I'm not asking you to track her down, only to be aware of how the political community sees her now." Mikado stated, and she blinked, confused by the statement, while Tearju hummed in response.

"So they've already made their decision on what happened? That doesn't seem right, Eve has only been contacted by police officers, not the PSIA or any alien representatives. How could they make a decision so quickly?"

"The previous Darkness Incident is well recorded and has been thoroughly investigated already, and Yami-san's character has been significantly tested and deemed not to be a threat if left alone. However, that same incident also made it clear that she has a weakness to being lead on, and Devilukean intel on Eden alongside your own testimony showed that Darkness doesn't seem to activate willingly." She nodded towards the subject of the conversation, her smile widening. "If anything, because you went Darkness then, it proved your own innocence."

Yami looked down, not wanting to maintain eye contact. "So, you want to make her out to be entirely at fault, while making me appear to be the victim, even though she was seen fighting me as well."

"The fact that you retain your memory when you leave Darkness is helpful to you in coming up with details like that." Mikado replied, before leaning forward over the chair again and nodding as she raised a finger to enunciate her speech. "I don't know if you're happy with hearing this, but based on the evidence we have before Nemesis can give her own testimony, all signs point to Mea for the mastermind behind this. Whatever her motives may be, whether she is out for malice or to protect Yuuki-san from something only she was aware of, the fact remains that the _Lunatique_ has made contact with the surveillance ship we seized recently, which is known to be Mea's _Pareidolia,_ and that afterwards, your behavior suddenly changed from passive to actively hunting Nana-san. As she is so important to galactic politics, while there isn't much evidence knowing Mea's past actions, it seems she was targeting her specifically. Whether that was because of her role or not, to politicians who neither know nor care about their personal relationships, it can be deemed as an act of war against Deviluke if it comes into Lord Gid's knowledge. I convinced Japan's PSIA to keep this under wraps for now, but in exchange, they asked me to discuss this with you...And this also involved Yuuki-san."

"Rito is-" Yami couldn't say much before Tearju interrupted, causing the girl to close her mouth in surprise at the serious tone in the normally absentminded woman's voice.

"Yuuki Rito is regarded as an informal emissary for interspecies relations by Deviluke." the scientist stated. "With his memory gone, that's almost two years of information lost along with it, alongside a potentially significant part of his development. If he's fundamentally changed as a person because of this, then that's another point against Mea as being anything but a menace now." She glanced sidelong at Yami, before turning back to her old friend. "But, Eve has been through quite a lot in the last few months, and I don't understand why you wanted her to be aware of all this, Ryouko. She isn't tied to Japan's government, isn't a citizen, and rarely comes to school."

The magenta-haired alien nodded, humming for a moment before her smile returned, glancing knowingly at the Trans. "The reason is because, while she's not involved with this political quagmire, she and Yuuki-san have an unusually deep personal relationship. I'm sorry for bringing this up so soon, but you confessed to him recently, didn't you, Yami-san?"

The girl jolted, staring forward as her face went red. "Y-You knew about that?" she asked. "I...I didn't intend anything by it, I knew he wouldn't accept! It was just…" She looked down, her voice going quiet. "I just wanted to say something before...I don't even know what I was rushing for."

A wry smile played on the woman's face, resting her cheek on her palm. "Young love, how cute. Anyway, that's why I wanted you to be informed of this. You've already met him, I'm sure you're aware that he has severe retrograde amnesia, to the extent that the parts of his brain connected to memory don't even register on MRI."

Yami hesitated, before nodding. "...Yes, he...didn't recognize me. I told him about my real name, then left…" Her voice was still small, not daring to speak up. "I hope Mikan delivered the taiyaki I made him, though he'll probably think it's bad…"

Tearju frowned, patting her back and speaking for her. "I saw the results of the scan, it's as if that part of his brain was completely shut down. There wasn't any activity at all, it's as if his memory was…" She stopped, blinking. "...Stolen. You don't think that Mea…"

"...Took his memories? It's possible. After the last Darkness Incident, he informed investigators that she has the ability to read minds and share memories. Knowing that, it isn't too far off to think she can also remove them." She sighed, shaking her head. "Unfortunately, without knowing her location or where her allegiance lies, there is no way to get them back, if it's even possible. That's why I wanted to ask you about it, since you were a part of Eden."

"I had nothing to do with Mea's development, I was kicked out and all my permissions revoked when they took Eve and made her into an assassin. The idea that they could take her information and make something as dangerous as Mea is was unthinkable when I was with the project."

Yami's shoulders tensed, and she suddenly planted her hands on the table, standing up to the surprise of the two. "I'm sorry, I...I don't want to listen to this anymore. You want me to find her, right? I can do that. I don't know how, but I'll-" She choked up, her eyes going wide as Tearju's hand met her shoulder, gently pushing her back to a sitting position.

"Eve, that's not what we want. Instead, you should do as you wanted anyway...Stay around him, be his friend and help him when he needs it. If you can, ask Nemesis what she knows, but more importantly, Yuuki-san will be confused and disoriented, and at school, there aren't as many people who can help him deal with the memories he's lost. Admittedly, this is partly a ploy as your mother to get you to come to school, but this is also to help him, as well as for your own sake."

She looked at her daughter with concern, noting the trembling she felt under her hand as Yami slowly nodded. "Right...I won't use Trance anymore, but I can still protect him normally, and...there isn't much anymore that can scare me enough to trigger Darkness again. I can...play human now, right, Tear?"

As she looked up at the woman, Tearju frowned, noticing the tears in the girl's eyes, before she wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close and setting her chin on her scalp. "Eve, neither of us knows what sort of species we are. I have no idea where I was born, or what race I am, and you have all sorts of genes inside you. But, because of that, you didn't have an identity from birth. You are what you want to be...If you don't want to be a Trans, then you can be human instead."

Yami sat stiffly for a moment, before allowing the embrace to happen, and Mikado watched with a smile on her face before they finally broke apart. "Well, I think we're done here. I've given you a lot to think about, but Yami-san...This is all voluntary on your part. You're a victim too, and I'll make sure you aren't punished for actions you couldn't control. You may leave, I still have more to discuss in private with Tear."

The girl nodded, and this time, Tearju didn't stop her as she stood up, wobbling slightly as she regained her balance before walking out of the door.

As soon as it closed, Mikado's smile fell, turning to her colleague and nodding. "Now, then. I'm sure you realized, but that MRI…"

"It wasn't quite what you'd expect from someone with neural trauma." Tearju stated, crossing her arms and humming to herself. "I'm sure you won't agree with me without evidence, but the fact that there was still a bundle of neurons still connected to the rest of his brain...My gut feeling is that his memories aren't gone, but sealed away somehow, and that whatever that access point is triggered by may restore what the scans couldn't detect. Mea's abilities are still shrouded in mystery, so even though such high level control over the brain like that is very difficult even with Deviluke's technology, she may be able to pull it off."

"Locking away memory in a catatonic state, while still having precise enough control to give it an access point…" Mikado looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head, though this time it wasn't in disbelief, but rather thoughtfulness. "If that's really the case, then Mea's motivations are even more complicated...If she was simply after removing his memories, then why bother giving him a way to gain them back?"

"I don't like the idea of him staying ignorant of the bonds he's formed." Tearju stated. "It's just another gut instinct, but I'm hoping that Mea's respect for her predecessor is legitimate, and that Eve can somehow find that trigger."

"The chances of that are low at best. If you're right in assuming that there is some way to unlock those lost memories, then it's more likely that Mea knows of a single specific memory that he still has which can lead to the rest. Something like meeting Lala-san, or first becoming aware of Sairenji-san beyond simply being a classmate. But, if those didn't activate his recollection already, then I have to hypothesize that it's only a red herring placed there to trick investigators into looking elsewhere."

~~~In the hallway~~~

Yami frowned, leaning on the wall as she listened in on the conversation. So, that was the actual truth behind it...She'd thought Tear was acting strange, she never remembered her speaking with such grimness before, and the fact she hadn't tripped on her own feet or fallen over while trying to sit down meant that she'd been abnormally focused on the situation at hand. That would have been a good way to lessen the tension, but she had simply acted like a normal teacher.

So, she thought Mea had given Rito some form of out for his situation. If that was the case...No, she shouldn't get hopeful. Realistically, there was no way Mea would make her the key, not when the point of that fight had in the first place been to get rid of his false personalities.

She would simply do as she was asked and defend him. That was all she knew she could do for certain, and though she dearly wanted to take advantage of his amnesia, Tearju was right. This was what was best for him, so she couldn't just do as she pleased. She would be his guardian angel, keeping him safe while hiding her true feelings.

She no longer wished to access Trance, and so this was what she could do not as Yami the assassin, but as Eve the human.


	44. Restart

Rito laughed hesitantly as he ate, listening to his father ranting about his recent deadlines and the chaos that came from having to delay production after the 'Darkness Incident', which seemed to be a common thing everyone around him knew about and didn't bother explaining in great detail.

"My stuff got big time about 3 years ago, and since then, work's really piled up. I'm real glad Zastin and the other two showed up when they did, I don't know what I'd do in the end-of-month crunch time if I kept growing without any assistants!" Saibai laughed, downing his plastic cup before setting it on the table, waving to Mikan. "Hey, can I get some more? I haven't drank in months!"

Mikan frowned, looking up from the card game she had been playing with Lala and Momo. "None of us are old enough to serve you alcohol, get it yourself."

The man blinked, before frowning as he stared at his empty cup, and proceeded to lean back and laugh, reaching up to tighten his characteristic headband. "Yeah, guess I shouldn't mooch off my hard working daughter too much when she already cleans up when we're too busy to do that. I still pay for this place, but I'm practically a guest myself!" He grinned, sitting upright again as he set an elbow on the table, scratching his chin and staring at Rito, who blinked at the expression on his face. "Well, I'm not the type to beat around the bush too much. I heard what happened, but you seem like you're doing alright. You remember your family and got along with those girls quickly, even though you don't know anything about them. I won't pretend to understand the complicated stuff, you're a whole lot better at dealing with people than I am, but even when you were young, you weren't the type to let something like this get you down."

The boy nodded, sighing as he set his chopsticks down to stare at the table. "I know, I'm going to try to get along with everybody I did before, but if I won't be able to recognize people I'm supposed to trust…"

"You can read kanji you learned recently, can't you?" the man asked, hushing his son as he motioned idly with his hand. "You remember your assignments and recognize the names of stores you've been since middle school. If it's just people and nothing else, then I don't see this being permanent." He grinned, before chuckling. "Trauma can cause people to suppress memories related to some particular incident. I bet once you've calmed down and settled back to a normal life, you'll get them back. It might be slow, it might be instant, or it might never happen at all, but the important thing is that you focus on getting comfortable with living again."

The man frowned, checking to make sure his headband was still tight before crossing his arms. "I don't like lying about things, so I'm going to say directly that when Mikan called me and told me what happened, I expected a whole lot worse. I was kind of aware that you've got a durable body that can recover quickly, but you got skewered by Darkness and were in critical condition by the time I got to the hospital. The doctors didn't even tell me what your chances were, so I thought you would-" The man stopped, before shaking his head.

"I know I'm not around much even though I live so nearby, but I'm still your father. You two and Ringo are everything for me, I would rather lose everything I've ever drawn than have to hear the way Mikan was talking during that call again. It's all I can do right now to stop myself from breaking down, because I know if I do that, then she will too. You're her big brother, and you've been what's keeping this house together for a long time. That Yami-chan…" He tapped his foot on the ground, closing his eyes and groaning as he took on a thoughtful expression. "I was about ready to ban her from ever seeing you again, but when I met her at the hospital, she talked the same way Mikan did. You were minutes away from tapping out, but because of that girl, you-"

"Dad, we promised her we wouldn't talk about that." Mikan said, standing up to walk to the table, and he blinked, looking in her direction, before nodding.

"Right. Still…" He turned back to the confused boy, narrowing his eyes as he spoke. "There were some strange circumstances around that whole situation, but I don't really have the same obligation to keep my promise that Mikan does. You've kept your friends close, Rito. It's because of how much you trust them, and how much they trust you, that you're alive today. You better thank that girl when you see her again, because she was willing to do a whole lot more than I'm capable of to drag you back to life."

~~~Later that night~~~

Deadlines stopped for no one, and Saibai had to eventually leave, though he had spent every minute he could talking with the house's residents, quite literally having to be pushed out of the door by Mikan to go back home, and now, the house was quiet as the two Devilukeans had gone to bed, leaving the siblings in the living room as Rito bounced Celine on his leg, the child just as happy as ever, blissfully unaware that the boy had no real idea who she was.

He knew she was an alien from the flower on her head and her strange two-toed feet, but other than that, she acted like a normal child, waving her hands and chattering excitedly as he played with her. "Celine...So she was a sunflower before, but ended up like this because of...Momo? Why would there be a plant species that could become human?"

Mikan shrugged, sitting beside him and moving her hand to catch the baby whenever she leaned too far backwards. "There's weirder stuff the twins have stored away. Celine's just another family member now, we're basically her parents."

"Parents…" The boy frowned, and when Celine copied his expression, he reached a finger to boop her nose, causing her to grin and go back to her incoherent baby noises. "It's weird, I remember always being the one protecting you, but all of a sudden, you're taking care of all the chores and I'm here being useless. Did I do anything to help out? To me, it just sounds like all I've done is bring more people here to deal with. And I'm pretty sure this isn't how the house looked like back then..."

Mikan tilted her head, tapping her chin before shrugging. "Yeah, we've needed to completely remodel several times because of Lala-san, but it's not as big a deal as it sounds. We all get out just fine, and our personal stuff never gets too damaged, so it's become sort of a tradition to get a new layout every few months. She doesn't look it, but she has a lot of funding since she's a scientist and princess and all."

The boy crinkled his nose at the thought of Lala being a scientist. "Yeah, considering the first thing that happened when I walked in the door was that a runaway robot knocked me over, I somehow don't think she's that good at it."

Mikan laughed, reaching to pick Celine up, the girl giving a mau as she was set on his sister's lap. "That was just Peke, she was running low on power and wasn't fully aware what was going on. That's pretty low on the scale of the chaos Lala-san's caused."

"Is that so…" He blinked, remembering something from the mention of Lala's status as a princess. "That reminds me...You said twins, but I've only seen Lala-san and Momo-san, and they're not the same age. Who's the third sister?"

Mikan jolted, before sighing, wrapping her arms around the little alien to give her a hug. "Nana-san is...probably not going to be discharged until tomorrow at least. She's Devilukean, so she has a lot faster recovery than a human, but you healed way faster than you should have. Plus, she got hurt a lot worse than you did, she was Darkness' target after all."

Rito nodded, sighing and scratching his head. "'Trauma can cause people to suppress memories'." he said, echoing his father's words. "From what I heard, I stepped in willingly and got punished for it, but she was fighting in self defense. I can't imagine how she reacted to all that happening."

Mikan let go of Celine as the child leaned back against her chest, patting the Plantian's head idly while they talked. "She didn't just have the physical reaction either, she also had to deal with Mea betraying her...It's not the first time, but last time this happened, Mea came back and apologized almost immediately when she realized she'd made a mistake. This time...she just vanished into thin air. Nobody knows where she went, even Yami hasn't seen her since then."


	45. Trust

**Somehow, I have written a lot less even though I've also had a lot less workdays after holidays. If this chapter is a mess, then it's entirely on me procrastinating and losing the flow, but hopefully it still works well. Happy new decade!**

* * *

It was an odd feeling, knowing what seat was his inside Class 2-A while at the same time not recognizing any of the people who greeted him as he entered the door. Luckily, Kenichi was also in the same class along with Lala and Sairenji, and he had allowed them to explain the situation to the people he assumed to be those he was friends with.

He still didn't really recall anything about Sairenji from the few times he'd interacted with her that remained in his memory, but having another familiar face besides just his best friend in the same class was comforting, and knowing that they were on friendly terms was good, though the circumstances of how that had happened confused him. Why did they become friends over someone they didn't know vandalizing the school gardens?

Class wouldn't start until the teacher got there, so he leaned back in his seat, sighing and looking up at the ceiling. It was good that he hadn't lost the academic progress he'd made, so he wouldn't be completely lost, but he still felt a little jumpy at the friendliness of people like Sawada and Momioka, who had been among the first to greet him when he came into the room. Apparently, he was acquainted with them, but they hadn't explained why and Kenichi had only made an innuendo, so that hadn't been helpful.

Kotegawa was another person he was confused by. The class president, who initially seemed worried about him before realizing he was physically doing just fine, and proceeded to pretend to ignore him, though he could still feel her staring at him from the side. What was her problem?

He turned his gaze to the side as Kenichi sat down next to him, the boy waving his hand as he sighed exasperatedly. "You could help out, you know. I don't know everyone in class either, and I don't have the natural charm you do."

Rito laughed, sitting up and crossing his arms on his desk to face sideways towards his friend. "I might have missed years, but I don't think that's true. Seems to me that it's just that everyone else is nice, other than that Kotegawa-san."

Kenichi sighed, shaking his head. "She bullies everyone she's got her eyes on, don't take it too seriously. You've been one of her targets ever since she met you."

"Hmm? How can I be popular and a delinquent at the same time?" the boy asked, confused, and Kenichi groaned, reaching to rest a hand on the side of his head.

"Dude, you have amnesia, you're not stupid. Her obsession with targeting you's one of her defining features, she's obviously-" He cut himself off as the door to the classroom opened.

It was a good thing Lala had explained who Tearju was, or Rito would have been confused by the sight of the former scientist walking into the room, followed closely behind by the girl Rito recognized as Eve, dressed in a school uniform and looking around hesitantly at the class while the woman smiled, proceeding to ram her shin into her desk on her way to stand in front of the blackboard and tumble to the ground, Rito and several classmates sweatdropping at the sight, but no one moved to help her, including Eve, who simply watched as she groaned and reached a hand to grab her desk and pull herself back to a standing position, adjusting her glasses back in position as she coughed into her fist.

 _How often has this happened? Nobody's surprised at all..._

"N-Now then…" Tearju said, laughing off the tumble before waving to Eve. "For certain reasons, we will be having a transfer from the first-year class. Some of you have met my daughter, others haven't, so this is-"

"Yami!" Lala shouted, and Rito turned to look at her as the princess pushed her hands to her desk, standing up and staring at the girl. "You're back?!"

 _Yami? Isn't her name Eve? Though 'Yami' does sound more like a nickname, I can't imagine anyone actually being named Darkness._

"Yes, Lala, I am." the girl replied, folding her hands together in front of her and lowering her head in a bow, looking down at the ground as she let her long hair frame her face. "To all of you, I have apologized for the last time I went wild, and for doing so again, I can only do the same."

"Last time was different!" Kotegawa shouted, standing as Lala looked in her direction. "Luckily, no one was hurt then, but now, you nearly killed two people. You can't just apologize and continue on with the same things you always do!"

"Bold stuff coming from you. Where's the justice for all the innocent guys you accuse of minor rule breaking?" Momioka asked, crossing her arms as Kotegawa turned to her, her teeth gritted together.

"This and that are different! Yami-san is a legitimate assassin, and we've just known her long enough that we've forgotten that! If she wanted to, then it wouldn't just be two people." She turned her gaze to Rito, who blinked. "You know, don't you, Yuuki-kun? You've seen what Darkness does, she has no control!"

The boy blinked, before shaking his head, raising his hands defensively and looking between the irate tsundere and Eve, who hadn't moved from her continuous bow. "I don't remember anything that happened, I have no idea who was to blame. But Ya-Eve doesn't seem to me like someone who would hurt people because she wants to."

"You don't remember…?" Kotegawa asked, before growling, pointing her index finger at the girl. "She's spent the last nearly two years physically assaulting you and other people she doesn't like, you call that something she doesn't want to do?"

Tearju, who was patting the subject's back, had her other hand balled to a fist, and she was about to intervene when Kenichi groaned, and he raised his hand before slapping it hard on his desk, ignoring the pain from the motion as he glared at her. "You don't have any right to say what Yami-chan wants, _Kokegaka_." he spat in a surprisingly venomous tone, unusual enough that even Lala, who was still standing, had to sit down and stare at him as Kotegawa's mouth closed, eyes practically bulging as she looked at him. "And saying she'll just attack anyone is a flat out lie. The only people she'll threaten are perverted idiots like me, and Rito's the only person I've ever seen her actually attack outside Darkness. And before you start yelling about that, have you never noticed that she won't actually hurt him intentionally? No matter how long she spends chasing him down, he always leaves with just a bandage or less!"

Rito moved his hands in the air to calm his friend down, laughing hesitantly to try and get his attention. "Hey, we're in class, calm down, Kenichi…"

"So, what, you think we should intentionally let a dangerous person who's already shown her teeth go to class with everyone after being so uninterested in school before now?! Attempted murder isn't a joke, it's a serious crime!" Kotegawa responded, and the two were about to go into another round of berating before Eve herself shouted, a wordless noise that drowned out what they were about to say and forced the class's attention on her as she stood straight, opening and closing her hands to help monitor her stress at the accusations being thrown about her.

"I won't say that I'm innocent, and I'm not asking anyone to trust me. Even this transfer, it wasn't my request, it was because Tear has to observe me to make sure I don't lose myself again. It's too late to say I've changed, but I do fully intend to remake myself from now on. I want to let myself be investigated, I want to go to school and make real friends, and…" She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and calming her tensed muscles and nervous shaking. "I want to be human. I won't say that it makes up for what happened, or that I'm any better a person now than I was, but I no longer wish to use my Trance at all. In no circumstances, whether provoked or not, will I be anything but human."

She looked around the class, who had gone quiet at the polite tone she spoke in, seemingly unbothered by the shouting earlier, and Rito sighed, reaching over to tap on Kenichi's shoulder and get the boy's attention.

"I don't really know what's going on, but you shouldn't get involved in people's business like that. I talked to Eve before, she seemed like she was genuinely worried about me. I thought she was just a friend at first, but this means she was the reason I was in the hospital, wasn't she? Nana too?"

The boy glared in Kotegawa's direction as the girl sat down again, crossing her arms and huffing, before he turned to face Rito. "It looked like you recognized her, but who's Eve?" Before Rito could answer, Kenichi narrowed his eyes, and in an instant, it was like the rage form before melted away, leaving him with his usual optimistic demeanor. "Oh, I see. Seriously, I wish you could share me some of that luck of yours!"

Eve walked forward, guided by Tearju as she moved down the aisle between the two boys, and smiled at Rito, ignoring the looks she got from the people around her as she set her hand on the empty seat behind him. "Is it alright if I sit here, Rito?"

"Um, sure." he replied, bewildered by the sudden change in her mood. "It'll be nice having a familiar face, even if you're apparently the person who I'm supposed to be worried about? I don't know, I'd rather just trust you."

"Trust me or don't, I've laid bare what I want. I want to make friends normally, and I want to stay yours." She gave another bow, lighter than the one before. "Please, take care of me, Rito."

He nodded, turning to watch as she sat down before humming as he noticed his vision being blocked, looking up to find Lala leaning forward, sticking a hand forward in front of the blonde, who looked between her hand and face as the princess grinned. "If Yami-chan's going to be human now, then should I still call you that?"

Eve frowned, glancing at Rito, who didn't answer, knowing he didn't have the context necessary to understand the interaction. This was something between people who knew each other, not for him to intervene in.

"I…I will still be Yami." she finally responded. "However, Rito." she made eye contact with the boy, not blinking as she nodded. "I want you to continue calling me Eve. I admit, I lied about simply being a friend, but it is true that we aren't particularly close. That said, 'Yami' is a pseudonym. I would rather you use my real name."

Rito was about to respond before Kotegawa scoffed, crossing her arms and leaning stiffly in her seat. "What are you doing, being so familiar with someone you tried to kill?"

"I did not try to kill him, he stepped into a fight already taking place." she responded, without a hint of hesitation as she accepted Lala's hand, though she was clearly still uncomfortable with the contact as she quickly broke it off.

Kotegawa scoffed, crossing her arms and glaring dangerously Eve's way. "Yeah, right! After everything you've done, I wouldn't be surprised if you were just trying to worm your way into backstabbing him again! I'm not gonna believe you for a second."

The princess standing up straight again and moving to wrap her arm around Rito's shoulder, her tail moving to wrap around his collar. It seemed as though Kotegawa's words had touched her in some way, and she instinctively moved into a protective position, even if she didn't realize it.

However, after a few moments of silence, she spoke: "I trust you. But, it's not because you weren't at fault, or because Nana asked me not to blame you, it's because you saved his life."

Kenichi laughed, leaning back in his chair to look at the two girls. "Yeah, I'll say the same. It takes guts to swallow your pride and talk to Mikan-chan again after that long silence, and I heard you did something crazy risky to make sure he'd live. I don't care what that Kotegawa says, you are not Darkness. Darkness did something wrong, but you were the one who stepped in to save my best friend."

Rito hummed at the statement as Kotegawa angrily stomped out of the room, much to the dismay of Tearju, who seemed to have lost control of the situation before it began. _That again. What did she do that was so special? It must be something pretty big if everyone's praising her, including dad._

The girl took a moment, before a small smile formed on her face as she nodded. "Yes, I fully intend to right all of my wrongs."

"Good, I- no, _we_ believe in you. Good luck, Yami-chan!"


	46. Farce

Nana groaned as her knee buckled, forcing her to press a hand against the hospital hallway wall as she was caught by Momo's arm wrapped around her shoulders, her sister laughing as she helped her to her feet again.

"One step at a time. Rito-san and the others do it just fine, you can too!" the third princess stated reassuringly, and Nana grit her teeth, glaring forward at the ground as if her lack of balance was the tiles' fault. "Look on the bright side...We use our tails for balance, but now you don't have the same weakness I do. You can catch mine, but I can't retaliate anymore."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Real helpful." the flat girl said, rolling her eyes at the devious grin on her sister's face. ""How can they move so well without a tail?" she complained, turning her gaze behind her, where Momo's twisted in the air in response to the question. "I've always thought about how strange it was that they didn't need it, but I didn't realize just how hard it really is to stay upright…" Her own tail, or what few inches remained of it, painfully wiggled in the gauze it was wrapped in, in a futile effort to do the job it no longer was capable of.

"Being jealous won't help anything, and the past can't change. Darkness wasn't being very precise, and she knew that our tails can't be reattached even if it is a perfect cut." Momo frowned, her grip on Nana's forearm tightening and alerting her twin to her change in mood. "I don't get why you don't want her punished. This is the second time she's-"

"'The past can't change.' You just said that." came the reply as she forced a smile through the pained expression on her face. "I've always been acting first and thinking later, and if I took a moment to pause, then this wouldn't have happened. I've had time to do the thinking now, and it made me realize that I don't want to fight anymore."

Momo hesitated, looking away for a moment before turning back to face Nana as the girl took another step, this one strong enough that she didn't collapse again. "I would've agreed, but it's the second time Darkness came out. The first time, yeah, she wasn't at fault and it was Nemesis pulling the strings, but this time she willingly believed-" She cut herself off, realizing that saying the name knowing Nana's relationship with the culprit could be bad. "She let herself be controlled, and even looking at her, I could see she was still aware of what she was doing."

Nana laughed hollowly, pushing her hair out of her face as she hadn't yet put it into her usual pigtails. "You don't need to censor yourself, I've already realized Mea doesn't really care about me. I'm not going to beat myself up over it again, it isn't worth the tears anymore. Nothing is, I've pretty much realized that whatever I get involved in ends up worse off than before."

Momo narrowed her eyes, using her grip to shake her sister as she frowned. "Don't talk like that! None of this is your fault, you shouldn't treat yourself like it is."

Nana didn't look at her, keeping her eyes on the ground as she moved to take another step, wobbly but more certain than the last attempt. The stub of her tail twitched again as it reflexively tried to correct her balance, but she was able to successfully not tip over as she planted her weight onto the foot, her hand held out to grab the railing on the hallway wall.

Her knees still shook as she changed position to move forward, but considering that only a few moments ago she couldn't stand up at all, it was significant progress, and she grit her teeth in a pained grin, a determined look crossing her face as she pushed Momo away from her, stumbling before catching herself again. "I didn't say I'm going to let that take me down." she responded. "Even if everything I've done before now was wrong, I'll just have to stop doing it. I don't think it's hard, I doubt I'll ever be able to move like I did anyway."

Her eyes narrowed as she sighed, waving her sister away as she tried to help her stand steady again. "I don't want to blame anyone anymore. You're right, I can't say it's all my fault, but the same applies to Mea, Yami, even Rito. You can't just say one person is to blame and put all your anger towards them. That's the same thing I was doing, and it ended with Rito getting hurt worse than I anticipated."

"Nana…" Momo said, her hand hovering in the air as she debated whether to give up trying to help or fight against Nana's desire to walk on her own. "Do you really not hate Yami-san for this? It's not just you she almost killed, it's Rito-san too-"

"Rito isn't dead, though, is he?" Nana asked, a tired laugh signalling her thoughts on the matter. "If you were telling the truth about him losing his memory of us…" Her smile fell, and she shook her head. "It's better for both of us if I cut ties and stay away from him." She silently thanked her lack of balance for being a legitimate excuse behind her trembling, keeping her face away from Momo's view as she stepped forward again.

"But, this is also a chance for you!" Momo said, grinning as she spoke in a light-hearted tone. "He doesn't remember how you were, so that means you can become a new person in his eyes. If you already are going to change yourself, then-"

"Momo, that's not what I mean. I know you're going to take advantage of him and try for that Harem Plan of yours, but I already lost my chance. Yami confessed first, and she'll probably try again now that she can start over. If I tried to get in the way now, it would just hurt her chances."

Momo frowned, crossing her arms. "What are you talking about? She's just brute forcing her way into his heart after so long doing nothing but attacking him. She'll self-destruct soon."

Nana grit her teeth, turning her head to glower at her sister, who stepped back in surprise at the serious expression on her face. "I'm not getting in Yami's way, or things will end up a bloodbath again." she replied. "And you saw it too, Rito wasn't against it when she kissed him. He made his choice already, losing his memory isn't going to do anything but make him learn about her from scratch. Yeah, we've lived in the same house as him, but he's known her longer and she made the first move. I don't believe in your idea of a harem, he's only going to pick one person, and I'm not going to get in the way and risk getting hurt again." She looked away again, sighing as she tightened her grip on the railing. "I don't want him to be hurt, and I'm done with being betrayed. It's too much for me, I'm not nearly as strong as you and Aneue. I won't stop you anymore with your stupid plan, but I'm not going to be a part of it either."

Momo stood still, debating what to say, before she sighed, moving to pat Nana's back, to the girl's chagrin. "Fine. I'm not going to fight you over this anymore, if you think that's best then I'll accept it. But, I can't let you go through with that without saying that you'll end up regretting that decision. Holding yourself back so that other people get what they want is just going to hurt you, and right now, you have the advantage of being a victim as well. If you pass up the chance now, then you won't be able to get it back later."

"I don't want to share any more than Yami does!" Nana said, in a pained half shout, half whisper as the dryness in her throat made her voice give out. "You're the only person who thinks that's a good solution, everyone else wants to monopolize him! Try all you want, but even he can't make everyone happy. Rito's not some omnipotent being to put on a pedestal, he's just a human. I don't care if I'm just running away, I'd rather save myself the pain now than continue suffering for the tiny chance he'd look at me."

"Nana." A firm tone now, something Momo rarely used and that forced her twin to look at her, making eye contact as she frowned. "You're acting like the Harem Plan is something selfless. It isn't. I'm doing it because I'm the same as you. I know my chances are small, so I'm doing what gives me the best odds of being at least remembered. I'm well aware of how Rito-san sees me, and I'm going to continue acting to convince him that he loves me too, even if it requires deceiving him. The difference between us isn't that you're not willing to share, it's that you don't have a strong enough will to keep fighting for what you want. We're both selfish people, but at least I have the integrity to admit it."

Nana's eyes widened at the statement, and she laughed, a hollow, emotionless noise that echoed in the hall as she turned away, standing straight, and for the first time since leaving her hospital bed, she didn't shake anymore, balanced on her feet and keeping steady.

"I'm done with this farce. Do what you want, I'm dropping out of the race."


	47. Human

Eve looked down at the index cards in her hand, reciting the words on them as she walked alongside Rito and Sairenji. The two humans were carrying papers to the teachers' office, the blonde following as she'd been doing for the last few days while she grew accustomed to her new life.

Despite Kotegawa's outbursts and continued surveillance the girl had settled into her new role as a normal student and despite her reputation from before the incident, the rest of the class had grown accustomed to her presence. Though she still stuck around Rito for the majority of the time, she had formed somewhat of a friendship with Momioka and Sawada, as little as that actually meant considering the duo's tendency to like everyone they met. Now, though, she had elected to follow Rito in his errands, focusing on a Japanese lesson she was taking to catch up to the standards of the rest of the class. Not being actively involved in school there were many things she actually hadn't known before.

Her attention was broken by Sairenji laughing at something Rito had said while Eve unknowingly narrowed her red eyes in confusion. She'd really lost her edge if she wasn't able to pay attention to something happening so close by. But then again, she had no need for that battle sense anymore. She let a small smile spread across her face as she turned back to her recitation. For once, it felt good to be unaware.

"Hey, it's not that funny!" Rito said, tilting his head to scratch his ear with his shoulder due to his hands being full of papers. "I'm sure Kenichi's done much dumber things since then, that was years ago!"

"I don't think he's ever fallen off a bike on a perfectly smooth road, though. You're more athletic when you're running from something, but he has more stamina since he kept biking until we'd just started our first year." She frowned, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Come to think of it, he was the one who approached me and introduced you two. I wonder if he knew I noticed you always taking care of the plants?"

Rito chuckled under his breath, sweatdropping at the thought. "It's still weird hearing you talk about things like they happened so long ago, when to me it was only a few days. Sounds like Kenichi's gotten popular now. Everyone in class knew him and you got to talking about him pretty quickly."

Sairenji frowned, before laughing hollowly, closing her eyes as her mouth curled to an unconvincing smile. "Saruyama-kun is...not that well liked. Most people just know him as the pervert who hits on every girl he meets with no inhibitions. He was among the group that easily got affected when Nemesis started causing problems….No offense, I know you're trying to help now but, yeah."

" **Hmm? Was I called?"** came the ethereal voice of Nemesis through Rito's mouth, the boy sighing at the sudden change. The person living inside him had introduced herself before, and it seemed that prior to him losing his memory, the Devilukeans had already known about her. At first he'd been concerned, but after a few days of her occasionally talking to him or others it had become a normal thing. What difference was there between a disembodied voice and a girl with a flower stuck to her head anyway? " **I was a far different person back then, I too see the me of the past as an enemy. Just think of me as Yuuki Rito's conscience now."**

"I'd rather my conscience talk about things I understand." Rito said, laughing at Nemesis before stopping to move aside, nudging Eve to do the same and allow another student to pass by. "But Saruyama isn't that bad, right? He doesn't seem much different."

"He's obsessed with 'Yuusaki Riko' now." Eve said. He turned to face her as she moved back to his side. "It's a long story, but it seems everyone but he realized who she really is."

"That's cruel, Yami-chan." Sairenji said, tilting her head in thought. "Although, I guess he _has_ been acting differently. He wasn't ever really all that proactive about things until you got hurt, but then all of a sudden, he's going around telling everyone he can to be nice to you and Yami-chan." She frowned, pulling her arms up to readjust her grip on the papers she carried. "It's kind of strange, seeing him so fired up. Usually he just is in the background, he doesn't like getting in your way."

Rito blinked, confused by the wording she chose. "It sounded like he was trying to help, he's always been like that. Give him a break, he's trying."

Sairenji sighed, nodding as she slowed her pace to let the two pass her, though she still kept up just behind. "It's true that he's been more dependable lately, but it's not really like him. He's been too worked up over what happened to you, and I know it's serious but he's not the type of guy to let it get to him. He didn't even react that strongly when the entire planet was in danger."

"He's always riding in Rito's wake, wouldn't he just be lost without him?" Eve asked, turning her head to face the bluenette, who frowned at the question.

"Saruyama-kun isn't a puppy! He's just that invested in his best friend's safety, you have no idea what happened when you disappeared for those first few days!" The girl's smile had transformed to a frown as she glared at the former Trans. "I've never seen him cry for real before then, it was scary! Do you even know anything about him besides that he's a pervert?!"

"Of course I don't, the only times I've ever interacted with him were when he was chasing some girl or staring up my skirt." Eve replied back, her voice kept low as she narrowed her eyes. "Rito has been someone I've respected for a long time, even though I wasn't vocal about it. But that monkey, I have no interest in. He may be loyal as a dog to Rito, but he isn't nearly as nice to everyone else. So why should I-"

The girl was cut off as someone bumped into her elbow, Rito laughing hesitantly as he nudged her. "Sorry, couldn't see in front of me to warn you…" he said, and she nodded, before turning to the person.

"I'm not in the mood right now to-" She blinked, cutting herself off at the sight in front of her.

Nana stood several steps away, arms flailed in the air in front of her as she backed away from the girl, a shocked expression on her face. "Y-Yami! Rito!" she called, and while Eve simply stared at her, Rito smiled, tilting his head as his arms weren't free.

"Back at school? Did the doctor say you were allowed out of bed?" Sairenji asked. It took a few moments for Nana to process that she'd said something, breaking away from the impromptu staring contest she'd been having with the blonde.

"Y-Yes, I didn't think you'd recognize me, though, Rito, since you haven't met me..." she said, and he laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"I guessed from the hair. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have equated you with the others. They're...bigger."

The girl's face flushed, but before she could respond, Eve opened her mouth to speak. "It feels like a long time since we last met, doesn't it?"

"It...It has." Nana replied slowly, hand moving to her lower back to feel the base of her tail. "I'm glad that Rito's okay, I heard you were really hurt too…"

Rito blinked, shaking his head. "No? I didn't have any scars or anything, as far as I know it was just a head injury." he said, flinching as the sudden sound of Nemesis' deep sigh in his ears.

" **Never mind him, you must've been a step away from the grave with how long you took. Don't Devilukeans have the ability to survive near-fatal wounds?"**

"I-" Nana seemed to want to say something, before interrupting herself as she backed up another step, taking a wide berth around Yami and slowly turning to stay facing her as she crossed into the hallway. "I have something to do, and I'm not going to fight you anymore. Can I just get through? I don't want to get cut down again..."

Eve narrowed her eyes, and Nana visibly trembled at the dark expression on her face, before she huffed, raising a hand to wave her away and looking down at her index cards again. "I've already decided that I won't fight anyone anymore. As long as you don't hurt Rito again, we won't have a problem. If there is, I'll solve it with more mundane methods. It's a regrettable cause, but we've both become just a bit more human."

Nana's hand instinctively gripped her tail, as if she was protecting it from Eve's gaze, as she backed off, turning to rush down the hall and out of sight as Eve frowned, her face turning sour.

Under her breath, she mumbled: "I've already done enough."


	48. Snap

**Time to roll the Wheel of Excuses...Let's see...Was working. Got an Oculus Quest. Procrastinated and watched Youtube all day.**

 **Well, whatever the reason, I think what happens here more than makes up for it. After deliberating with my beta reader, the story will be accelerated from now on! Enjoy…**

* * *

"Gah!" Kenichi shouted as he clasped his arms behind his head, leaning back as he closed his eyes. "I'm out again! Sairenji, can't you cut me some slack? I've never played this before!"

Sairenji smiled as she took his cards, setting them in the deck she held in hand. "Yami-san has never played either, but she's doing well."

Eve sat at the other end of the coffee table to Rito's left, the blonde holding several cards in hand and looking between them and the bluenette, who was acting as the dealer for the game. "Your sister knows some interesting games, what did she call this again?"

"She made it up, I don't know what it's called." Sairenji responded, and Rito held his hand out to her, holding two cards face-down that she took and set into the deck before handing two more to him.

As the three remaining players continued their game, Nana stood behind the banister of the stairway with her eyes narrowed, watching Eve with a frown before she jolted as she felt a hand on her upper back, turning her head to face Mikan, who carried a plate of cookies in one hand as she smirked. "Stop worrying so much and just go in, Yami-san won't hurt you."

"Aren't you surprised at all?" Nana asked. "It's been weeks since she showed up, and after everything that happened, she's gone back to normal. Don't you think that's strange?"

Mikan tilted her head, shrugging her shoulders before her smirk softened to a small smile. "Look at her and tell me nothing's changed, Nana-san. Of course I was worried, and naturally I was really angry when I heard what she did, but I can't pretend nothing good has come of it. It used to be so rare to see her smiling, and even Rito's not as bad off as I feared. It's sad he doesn't remember anyone, but I think it's better that he's being more honest now. It would be nice if he had both, though…" She laughed, using her hand on Nana's back to push the girl forward.

'I come bearing gifts!" she called, moving the cookies with a flourish as Rito moved the cards on the table out of the way of the plate while Saruyama waved his hands from where he sat on the couch.

As she handed cookies to the people present, Nana stood still, confused by the Yuuki sister's actions. Of all people, she'd expected her to take the side protecting Rito, even over her friendship with the Trans. They hadn't met in almost six weeks, and even before then they hadn't interacted as much as usual, so she wouldn't have been so close with her anymore. Why was she immediately accepting this like it was normal? So what if Yami was acting more open, and so what if Rito wasn't so creepily optimistic anymore? He had stopped acting like such a beast, but this new Rito and Eve didn't sit right with her.

She cautiously stepped forward, scooting into the seat next to Kenichi and crossing her arms, choosing to keep her eyes off Eve and facing RIto, who tilted his head as he handed her a cookie before turning to look at his cards again.

"I've got to check to see if Celine's still asleep, you have fun here. Try not to burn the house down again."

"Lala-san isn't here right now, so that won't happen." Sairenji responded as Mikan turned to head upstairs, leaving the group to themselves.

Nana frowned, crossing her arms and leaning forward to look at the cards on the table. "This looks like a mess, is this really a game?" she asked, and Rito nodded as Eve set another several cards down in places that weren't already covered.

"Eve's dominating, she ran Kenichi out already and I'm probably going to fold soon too." he stated, sighing as he looked over the small set in his hands. "This is almost all her points, she just has to put down the December cards now…"

"It isn't difficult if you get lucky." Eve stated, rearranging her hand as Nana blinked.

"You don't need to be rude about it, I've barely played any card games." she responded. "Can I join when you finish that round?" If Mikan was going to ignore her concerns, then she may as well try to be happy with the situation. She'd done enough moping around in bed after all.

"Just don't look at my cards!" Kenichi said, laughing as he leaned back. "Since we're in the same seat."

"I don't think Nana-chan will cheat, it's just a game." Sairenji responded, reaching to tap the boy's knee before checking the deck she held and scratching her head. "Eh, Yami-san...I'm not exactly sure since this hasn't happened before, but there's no more December cards in my deck. I think you're supposed to play against Yuuki-kun now…"

"Always ends up that way, doesn't it?" Kenichi asked, rolling his shoulder to adjust his position. "Even with a card game, you two always end up duking it out. At least there's no blades involved this time."

Nana flinched at the statement, but Rito simply laughed as he thought over his turn. "As far as I know, you're just making all that up anyway. Eve's not the type of person to do that."

"Not anymore." the girl replied under her breath, before looking up as the table rattled under her elbows.

Nana had pushed herself to lean forward, her hand planted on the corner she sat near and scattering the cards nearby as she stared at Eve with narrowed eyes. "People don't change that quickly." she said, surprising even herself with the venom in her voice. She was keenly aware that the humans around them were staring at her, but that statement was too annoying for her to care. "Saruyama-san is one thing, but you can't be joking after what you did."

"Nana-chan, what-" Kenichi started, before turning as Sairneji set a hand on his shoulder.

"We promised Yuuki-kun that we wouldn't judge Yami-san, but Nana didn't." she said, her voice filled with concern as she looked over in Rito's direction, the hand holding Rito's friend tightening as she grit her teeth. "And this really isn't something we're qualified to interrupt...It's up to him."

Rito had rolled back to sit on the ground, having dropped the cards in his hand out of surprise at the sudden action, and he looked on in silence, confused by what was going on. He'd barely talked to Nana since meeting her, and she hadn't seemed like a particularly angry person. If anything, she'd been avoiding contact as much as possible, even when her sister encouraged it.

Eve, on the other hand, had frozen in place, her eyes tracking down to stare at her cards as she set down another run, acting as though the table was still in perfect layout as it had been. "This wasn't a sudden change, it was the result of two years of this ecchi idiot who kept on badgering me when I tried to push him away. In that time, I learned about how humans process emotions and memories on my own terms, but it wasn't until I let Darkness escape again that I was able to make use of that knowledge. As I am no longer a Trans, I want to change my personality as well. Isn't making light of tragedy something they do all the time?"

"People who commit a crime and then laugh about it are psychopaths, not human!" Nana responded, swiping her hand and sending cards scattering off the table and onto Rito's lap as the boy blinked.

" **It seems she was more deeply affected than she let on."** Nemesis mused, standing by the tree she'd found herself near when she first woke up in this new mental landscape. The breeze from before had died down now, but the grass below her feet was still soft and the tree still felt real. " **You won't know, but that's more than just a few weeks worth of steam she's letting out.** "

She'd been relatively quiet since initially introducing herself to the new Rito, simply basking in this relaxed world she lived in. His remaining memories were clearer to her now, almost impossible to avoid now that they tickled her feet with every step coming down on the fragile blades.

The crystal forest had been full of memories, but they had been locked away in unyielding glass that hurt to touch, but here, she could run her fingers along the lone tree and feel every crevice of the wood without fear of injuring herself.

This was the true core of Rito's being. After stripping away everything that had mounted to form the shells that he thought were his true self, all that was left was this one center, the thing that truly marked what it meant to be Yuuki Rito.

 _That's wrong, isn't it?_ Rito thought in response, the breeze kicking up at his worried tone. _I mean, I know what happened, but don't people need to reach a breaking point to react like that?_

Nemesis couldn't help but sigh as she felt the wood vibrate under her touch. Normally, she would be happy that he continued to make use of this core of himself. Even without the useless optimism he once had, Rito was a person who always forgave, who believed that anyone should be treated with kindness that they didn't deserve.

She had made the mistake once of choosing not to get involved, and in doing so, her efforts had backfired and sent him into remission. However, she was an experienced deceiver, someone who had spent her entire life manipulating people. She was good at understanding when someone could not be saved.

Nana was a threat not only to Yami, but to Rito as well. She wasn't going to do nothing and let him get hurt again, not when she'd realized what Mea had wanted her to do in the first place. At the time, she had been acting as though she was simply living in another body, just as she'd done when she still lived within Mea, but after finding this new mindscape, she had felt a change just as Rito did.

She had developed a sense of protectiveness about this strange human who had accepted her even knowing her old intentions. It was an odd feeling, wanting to care for someone who she had little attachment to, and though it was true that it was partly her survival instinct as she now depended on him to keep herself healthy, there was a little more to it. Like Yami, this boy had convinced her to let go of her past and focus on something new. It was a different process and far from romantic attraction, but like Yami, he'd made her more human.

" **Not everyone is capable of adapting as quickly as you do, nor do they all want to see the good in people. Ever since I can recall, Nana-hime has always been short-tempered."**

 _That doesn't sound right, she looked more scared than anything at school._ "Nana, sit down. Can't you stop yelling? Eve's not doing any harm now, even if she used to."

The girl's eyes were crazed as she turned to him, pointing her hand to the subject of her rants. "She's the most successful assassin in the galaxy, and it wasn't just once, but twice that she let herself go. It was a miracle the first time didn't hurt anybody, but the second, I can't even just say it's personal. It wasn't just you and me, she almost destroyed a neighborhood!"

"If I recall, I only damaged the road and barriers." Eve responded, though her monotonous voice was low now as she focused on remaining calm. "It was your tail laser that had real consequence."

 _Eve didn't actually hurt any civilians? But Momo told me there were casualties..._

Nemesis frowned as the wind picked up, the leaves rustling above her head as she felt the ground shift below her feet, a root sprouting from the ground and pushing aside the small blades of grass that surrounded it. " **I can't speak for Momo-hime, though our intentions were once mutually exclusive. All I can say is that Yami's safety is now threatened by Nana's actions.** "

 _Why can't they both come to an understanding? Wasn't I the center of things anyway?_ "Things turned out okay, we both got hurt but we can both live on." he said, in another attempt to reassure the princess as he raised his hands.

Meanwhile, Sairenji and Kenichi watched in silence, the two having backed away from Nana to avoid being hit by her hand madly pointing forward across the table. "Nana-chan, calm down. It's fine if you don't get along, but everyone else doesn't care anymore. It's in the past, you can't-"

"What happened _in the past_ took away my tail and Rito's memory!" she shouted, kicking her foot forward to send the table flying at the blonde, who jolted as her eyes went wide, though she didn't have the reaction time to avoid as she was flung to her back by the force of the wood smashing her chin as it flipped into the wall behind them, smashing the TV at the other end of the room in the process.

Kenichi immediately jumped up to wrap his arms up under her armpits to keep her from lunging as Sairenji abandoned her non-intervention plan in favor of rushing over to lift Eve's head up, touching a palm to her chin to inspect the damage. "What is wrong with you? Yami-chan wasn't doing anything, and you knew she wouldn't use her Trance to protect herself!" the boy shouted as the girl continued on her ranting.

Nemesis reached to grab one of the leaves falling from the tree, freezing as her eyes widened at the emotions she felt within it. She should know better by now, but it surprised her every time she found such a small yet influential memory.

A pair of young boys pointing and laughing at a black-haired girl on the ground, having scraped her knees after being pushed by one of them. The first-person view of Rito rushing to her aid, brandishing a stick and waving it to scare the boys off. The moment was saturated with the same desire to protect as everything else in his recorded memories, but this was special in that it had one other emotion, something barely hidden under the surface and directed at the boys rather than the girl.

Like this memory, there were two very different emotions this brought up in her as well. Concern, of course, but something else. She had never before thought she could fear a mere human, but this felt like the epitome of a phrase she'd heard before. "Demons run when a good man goes to war."

Inner Rito's negativity was different than this. This wasn't the product of her meddling, or his own confused thoughts grating on each other. This was truly how he felt about what he was witnessing.

Rito was angry.

As the boy pushed himself to a standing position, it felt like an eternity before he turned to Nana, who turned to his direction, and as she was about to shout something, her mouth closed as her eyes went wide.

"Rito, what are you…" Kenichi asked, his voice trailing off as Rito raised his hand.

In the crystal world, Nemesis would have heard a crack, but in this new meadow, it was dead silent as the wind stopped, and with no one able to react in time, there was nothing shifting the still grass as a loud slap rang out in the chaotic room, sending them into the same silence she was experiencing.

His voice was low and his mouth in a deep frown as Kenichi, shocked by the action, relaxed his grip, allowing the momentum from Rito's strike to send Nana crashing sideways, her shoulder clipping on the arm of the couch to send her face first to the floor.

"Get out."

The room was dead quiet as Nana stared wide-eyed up at him, groaning as she rolled to rest on her back and reached a hand to the mark on her cheek. It hadn't hurt, even with her weakened state, there was no way a human could injure a Devilukean, but the physical pain didn't matter. She made no effort to sit up, formed no words as she silently faced him from the ground.

"Rito, what are you doing?" Kenichi asked, looking between his best friend and the fallen Nana. "She went too far, but you've never-"

"I promised not to blame Eve, even if she was someone bad before." he responded, his eyes not moving from his glare. "To me, all I know is that she's been nothing but nice to me and the rest of us, and all I've seen out of Nana is avoiding her when she tried to apologize and attacking her when she wanted to move on. Eve told me when I first woke up, she didn't think I was exactly the same as I used to be, and she's right. I'm not going to let people hurt my friends, even if everyone else says I was her friend too."

"Rito…" Eve said, groaning as she sat up, waving away Sairenji as she tried to hold her steady. "Something like this, I already expected it. Nana is right about people changing, it takes a long time to overcome trauma, and she has every reason to hate me. I know I've done wrong, and it's deeply affected her. If you also turn against her, then she won't have anything left to trust."

Rito was quiet for a moment, before turning to face away from them, gaze pointed fixedly at the door as his hands balled into fists, his arms trembling as he shook his head. "That's not right. I'm not going to just go along with whatever I'm told, like the me from my lost memories did. If she wanted to be trusted, then she should have actually tried." He looked up, exhaling and loosening his fists as his voice steadied, though his tone didn't change. "I want to protect the people I do care about. I'm not going to let them be torn apart by someone I remember nothing but frustration from."

Nana reached her free hand to grip the couch and pull herself to a sitting position, leaning on the seat as her legs sprawled to the side, her expression dark as she shook her head. "You have no idea how many times you've come home with bandages, how much you've tried to help her with her not showing any sign of changing at all. She's a liar, everything she's been telling you has been made up to take advantage of your amnesia."

Kenichi reached to drag her up to sit in the chair, somewhat more comfortable than on the floor, but his rough grip and the look on his face made it clear he wasn't supporting her. "You know that's not true, Yami-chan's really done her best to repent, and I don't know the full story but I bet she didn't end up that way willingly. She was doing really great after Darkness happened last time, and she hasn't hurt anyone since then."

"You know it was Mea who was controlling her anyway." Sairenji said, splitting her attention between helping Eve stand despite her attempts to push her away and watching Rito, who again now stood still as he listened to their back and forth. "You're just pinning blame because Mea-"

"Mea has nothing to do with this!" the girl shouted, kicking her feet forward to jump to a standing position as she raised a fist in front of her. "She said it herself, she didn't want anyone to get hurt either! She loves Rito too and just was trying to protect him in her own way, she didn't think Yami would just give in to her hatred and blindly attack everyone she saw as a threat!"

She was about to rush forward before Rito reached his hand out, grabbing her wrist as she turned to face him, eyes wide as he shook his head.

"You're the only person who thinks that. Eve is-"

"-a murderer!" Nana's voice was shrill as she screamed, trying to wrench her arm from his grip, but it held firm, and she glanced at his hand before waving her other hand to enunciate her words. "If Momo hadn't arrived, I'd be dead because of her, and if Aneue didn't recognize the danger, you would too! My life is one thing, but she didn't even care that you were supposed to be the person she was getting revenge for!"

"Yami-chan is the one who saved Rito's life too!" Kenichi shouted, and she whirled to face him. "You're just projecting what happened to you as the same situation as Rito's. Didn't you ever think that Yami-chan didn't want that either? The whole point of Darkness is that she loses control!"

"I don't-" Nana's voice cracked as she closed her eyes, slumping where she stood as she reached a hand to wipe her eyes. "I don't care about what happened to me. I hurt him too, that's what started it to begin with. It's because Yami attacked someone she cares so deeply about, it's that kind of betrayal I can't stand. There's no way I can ever trust someone who turned against a person we both-" She closed her mouth, her gaze slowly turning to Rito as his hand slackened, letting her go as he turned to face her again.

"If that's supposed to be your reasoning, it's a load of crap." he stated coldly, and her eyes widened as she fell backwards, landing heavily on the couch as he continued. "I know I was someone special to Eve before, and I'm not going to outright reject or accept until I know enough about her to make a decision, but you...there's no reason I should trust anything you say. Fights happen between family all the time, I bet you and Momo are always at each other's throats given how different you are. Family bonds are too strong to break from a single fight. You must not have had strong feelings if you've lost that so easily."

"It's not...It isn't that!" she responded, her voice growing desperate as she looked up at him, hands waving wildly as she spoke. "I've never been good at being honest with myself, but I figured it out now! This is really how I feel, I really do want to protect you, and she is too much of a danger to-"

"Eve is not dangerous!" Rito shouted, shutting her up as she could do nothing but watch with a terrified expression on her face, the shock of the normally quiet boy's outburst impossible for her to properly process. "You're right, I don't know what sort of things happened, but that doesn't matter. Look around you! Eve is being protected by everyone here, it's only you who still hates her! You're the only one who refuses to accept that!" He reached to grab her arm again, and with a tug brought her to a standing position, starting to drag her to the door.

"Wait, Rito." Kenichi said, holding his hand out to get the boy's attention. "You don't need to-"

"I do." he replied, cutting his friend off as he reached his hand for the front door. "I can't stand this anymore, I'm not letting someone who assaulted my family stay here."

Nana's movements were sluggish and jerky as her mind and reflexes fought between giving in and resisting, doing little but staring as she was spun around to land on the concrete landing outside the door as he stared at her, but before she could respond, he'd already pulled it closed, slamming it with a loud thud.

There were several moments of silence before Eve stepped forward, stumbling momentarily before regaining her balance as Sairenji let her lean on her shoulder. "Rito, Nana wasn't entirely wrong, you didn't need to go that far."

"No, I did. If I let that slide, then it would happen again and again. It's better to cut ties now before things get worse."

"It's too late for that." came Momo's voice as he blinked, looking up the stairway where she stood, her D-Dial in hand as she gave a frown. "This was bad timing, Father just arrived…"


	49. AN: Where is Snapped?

**Hey, Xyrule here. It's been the longest break between chapters since the story began, so I thought it was about time to explain what's going on. It wasn't official before, but now, I'll just go and say that this is an indefinite hiatus. Good news, it absolutely will be finished eventually. Bad news, that may be after the story's second anniversary. It's so close now, and left off on a major cliffhanger, but as it stands, I hope you don't mind waiting a little longer.**

 **Personally, my reason for taking so long was burnout on planning and writing the upcoming Gid arrival, along with some behind the scenes disagreements with my editor on the way the story should end. Those are resolved and have been so for weeks now, but yeah.**

 **I've also been focused on making a new set of maps for my other story, The King of Commoners, and that often ate at time I normally use to write. That story has been affected by burnout too, but hopefully it'll pick back up again.**

 **Work has also been a factor, with COVID-19 changing how we handle things in the store (I'm an essential employee, so no staying at home for me), but I'd argue that's more me making excuses than actually seriously affecting me here.**

 **My editor has also been uninterested in continuing for now due to some things that happened IRL, and since he's been such a big help, I don't think it's fair to readers to post unedited or edited differently (last chapter was half as long before he nagged me into continuing), so until he's ready, there won't be a new chapter. I'll give a heads up when I start writing again, but it's his call, not mine.**

 **So, what does this mean for the Snapped? Well, it will possibly be ongoing after its second anniversary, even with so few chapters left, but it will be finished. Please bear with us, and I do believe what's coming is worth the wait!**

 **Also, if you read KoC or are a longtime reader who knows how I do mass uploads every year on June 26th, I was pretty excited to do the 10th anniversary of my writing history this year. However, both because of this burnout and also for solidarity in the current IRL climate, I will be extending the deadline to August 26th. I hope no one is too annoyed by that.**


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